U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. $USPH Position Increased by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 172.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,676 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,159 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of USPH. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter valued at about $29,381,000. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter valued at about $21,940,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 47.6% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 474,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,325,000 after buying an additional 153,054 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 77.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 317,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,946,000 after buying an additional 138,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 4D Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy during the third quarter valued at about $9,344,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total value of $244,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,030,141.88. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.86, for a total transaction of $52,205.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 30,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,371,951.08. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USPH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

NYSE USPH opened at $72.56 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.35. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.67 and a 52-week high of $93.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. The business had revenue of $202.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 129.58%.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc (NYSE: USPH) is a leading owner and operator of outpatient physical therapy clinics across the United States. The company delivers rehabilitative care to patients recovering from orthopedic injuries, neurological disorders and chronic conditions. Its core services include one-on-one physical therapy sessions, aquatic therapy, occupational therapy, massage therapy and sports medicine programs designed to restore mobility and enhance quality of life.

In addition to traditional rehabilitation services, U.S.