Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,760,000 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the November 30th total of 2,410,000 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 405,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 131.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 8,359 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 240,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 9,590 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 432,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,578,000 after buying an additional 162,165 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 44.4% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ClariVest Asset Management LLC grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 152,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ HCSG traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.61. 419,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,158. The stock has a market capitalization of $850.91 million, a PE ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.55. Healthcare Services Group has a 1-year low of $8.98 and a 1-year high of $13.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.13.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCSG has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Macquarie began coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Company Profile

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.