Short Interest in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Increases By 24.6%

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 719,700 shares, anincreaseof24.6% from the July 15th total of 577,600 shares. Currently,4.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 188,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 188,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently,4.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE USPH opened at $87.5170 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.91. U.S. Physical Therapy has a fifty-two week low of $62.77 and a fifty-two week high of $101.19.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $197.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $190.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 5.05%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is 78.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised U.S. Physical Therapy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research raised their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.57, for a total transaction of $155,133.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 22,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,836.22. This trade represents a 7.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Nancy Ham sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.01, for a total value of $31,204.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,357.94. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,955 shares of company stock worth $251,170. Insiders own 2.00% 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth about $18,886,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the first quarter worth about $8,702,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 32.6% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 345,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,964,000 after purchasing an additional 84,878 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 8.9% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 888,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,499,000 after purchasing an additional 72,463 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy during the fourth quarter worth about $6,240,000.

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.