Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

HCSG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Healthcare Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.20.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HCSG opened at $23.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.81. Healthcare Services Group has a 1 year low of $13.06 and a 1 year high of $25.75.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The company had revenue of $470.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.44) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 215,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 119,290 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,008,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,400,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,534,000 after buying an additional 62,689 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 616.2% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 74,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 63,866 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 298.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 32,752 shares in the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Healthcare Services Group

Healthcare Services Group, Inc (NASDAQ: HCSG) is a leading provider of support services to healthcare facilities across the United States. The company specializes in environmental services, including housekeeping and sanitation, as well as linen and laundry management. In addition, Healthcare Services Group offers dietary and nutrition services, catering to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities and other long-term care providers.

Founded as a family-owned business in the late 1970s, the company completed its initial public offering in 1997.