Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Has $12.47 Million Stock Holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. $USPH

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 7.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 146,752 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,115 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $12,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of USPH. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 79,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,733,000 after buying an additional 2,594 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 249.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,568,000 after acquiring an additional 35,191 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 131,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,288,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 7.4% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 30,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,371,951.08. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Binstein sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,030,141.88. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH stock opened at $76.87 on Friday. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.77 and a 12 month high of $93.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 5.07% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The business had revenue of $202.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is 126.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.50.

U.S. Physical Therapy Profile

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.