Independent Director of U.S. Physical Therapy Picks Up 19% More Stock

Potential U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) shareholders may wish to note that the Independent Director, Kathleen Gilmartin, recently bought US$276k worth of stock, paying US$69.00 for each share. That's a very solid buy in our book, and increased their holding by a noteworthy 19%.

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U.S. Physical Therapy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Kathleen Gilmartin was the biggest purchase of U.S. Physical Therapy shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$74.16. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. Happily, the U.S. Physical Therapy insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Kathleen Gilmartin was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of U.S. Physical Therapy shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

View our latest analysis for U.S. Physical Therapy

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Insider Ownership Of U.S. Physical Therapy

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 2.0% of U.S. Physical Therapy shares, worth about US$23m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The U.S. Physical Therapy Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for U.S. Physical Therapy is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, U.S. Physical Therapy makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for U.S. Physical Therapy you should be aware of.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.