Here’s Why Polen Capital Sold U.S. Physical Therapy (USPH)

Polen Capital Management, a value-driven, concentrated, long-term investment management firm, published its ‘Polen U.S. Small Company Growth’ fourth-quarter 2020 Investor Letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A gross return of 29.14% was recorded by the fund for the Q4 of 2020, slightly below its Russell 2000 Growth benchmark that delivered a 29.61% return. You can view the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a peek at their top bets for 2021.

Polen Capital Management, in their Q4 2020 investor letter, mentioned U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE: USPH) and shared their insights on the company. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. is a Houston, Texas-based health care company that currently has a $1.4 billion market capitalization. Since the beginning of the year, USPH delivered a -8.35% return, while its 12-month gains are up by 84.82%. As of April 01, 2021, the stock closed at $110.21 per share.

Here is what Polen Capital Management has to say about U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. in their Q4 2020 investor letter:

“U.S. Physical Therapy was a detractor for the full year. U.S. Physical Therapy is a leading operator of outpatient physical therapy clinics and injury prevention services. However, pandemic-related challenges, including some practices temporarily closing, others operating well below capacity, and the company’s decision to permanently close some practices could mean that a return to prior results may take much longer and considerably widen the range of outcomes. We chose to sell our position in the second quarter in an effort to upgrade our Portfolio.”

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Our calculations show that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE: USPH) does not belong in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. was in 12 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 10 funds in the third quarter. USPH delivered a -8.35% return in the past 3 months.