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

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Benchmark in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price target suggests a potential upside of 44.93% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Macquarie initiated coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HCSG traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.73. The stock had a trading volume of 31,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,815. The company has a market cap of $859.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.06. Healthcare Services Group has a 1-year low of $8.98 and a 1-year high of $13.00.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $429.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 44.4% in 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 during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 78,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 4.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the period. ClariVest Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 152,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.