U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 481,600 shares, a drop of 14.8% from the August 31st total of 565,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 115,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USPH traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $84.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 72,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,841. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.35. U.S. Physical Therapy has a 52-week low of $78.08 and a 52-week high of $113.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.60, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.39.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $167.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.34 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 143.09%.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, Director Kathleen A. Gilmartin purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.09 per share, for a total transaction of $172,180.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,627,445.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Kathleen A. Gilmartin acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.09 per share, with a total value of $172,180.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,627,445.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.50, for a total value of $142,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,038 shares in the company, valued at $580,635. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On U.S. Physical Therapy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of USPH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,072,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,065,000 after acquiring an additional 10,175 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 479,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,634,000 after purchasing an additional 26,758 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 427,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,791,000 after buying an additional 42,281 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 423,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,173,000 after buying an additional 10,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 239,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,179,000 after buying an additional 9,434 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.