Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.80.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HCSG. StockNews.com raised Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Finally, Macquarie began coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ HCSG opened at $11.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.91 and its 200-day moving average is $11.23. The company has a market capitalization of $873.62 million, a PE ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.56. Healthcare Services Group has a 12-month low of $8.98 and a 12-month high of $13.00.

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

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCSG. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 175,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 78,391 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after purchasing an additional 50,375 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 11.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 773,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,642,000 after purchasing an additional 76,456 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 86.5% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 807,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,015,000 after purchasing an additional 374,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 39.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 560,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,858,000 after purchasing an additional 159,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

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.