Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,346 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,246 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.18% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 68.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 774 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

NYSE:USPH traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.82. The company had a trading volume of 130,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,003. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 77.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.27 and a 52-week high of $113.63. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $83.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.73.

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U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. As a group, research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on USPH shares. Barrington Research lowered their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $588,564.48. The trade was a 19.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Company Profile

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.