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

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) saw a large increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie assumed coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 1.8 %

Healthcare Services Group stock opened at $11.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $857.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.91 and its 200-day moving average is $11.24.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $428.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.95 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 2.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 13.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 121,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 14,303 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,057,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,766,000 after purchasing an additional 181,231 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth $256,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 120.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 68,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 37,633 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 5.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 162,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

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.