Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Macquarie assumed coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

NASDAQ HCSG traded down $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $11.34. The stock had a trading volume of 122,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,043. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.06. Healthcare Services Group has a 52-week low of $8.98 and a 52-week high of $13.00. The stock has a market cap of $831.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.55.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 12.59%. The business had revenue of $428.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCSG. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 78,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 152,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 804.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Healthcare Services Group

Healthcare Services Group, Inc provides management, administrative, and operating services to the housekeeping, laundry, linen, facility maintenance, and dietary service departments of nursing homes, retirement complexes, rehabilitation centers, and hospitals in the United States. It operates through two segments, Housekeeping and Dietary.