Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,500 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 60.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1,291.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.29, for a total transaction of $166,003.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,236.74. This represents a 19.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,412 shares of company stock valued at $706,605 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH stock opened at $88.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.86. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.18 and a 52 week high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 187.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy 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.