Short Interest in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Increases By 9.8%

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the December 15th total of 2,760,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 400,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.6 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie started coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCSG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 100.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 804.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 85.7% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 3,774 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 1,017.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 9,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Healthcare Services Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Healthcare Services Group stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 291,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,663. Healthcare Services Group has a one year low of $8.98 and a one year high of $13.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $857.49 million, a P/E ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.56.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $429.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.