This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In U.S. Physical Therapy

We'd be surprised if U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) shareholders haven't noticed that the President & COO, Eric Williams, recently sold US$192k worth of stock at US$95.84 per share. That sale was 12% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Check out our latest analysis for U.S. Physical Therapy

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

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chairman & CEO, Christopher Reading, for US$291k worth of shares, at about US$100 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$91.87. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

All up, insiders sold more shares in U.S. Physical Therapy than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership Of U.S. Physical Therapy

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that U.S. Physical Therapy insiders own 1.6% of the company, 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?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of U.S. Physical Therapy stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for U.S. Physical Therapy you should know about.

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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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