Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Makes New $3.82 Million Investment in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 155,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.23% of Healthcare Services Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 62,689 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 80.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,981,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,354,000 after purchasing an additional 882,213 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,475,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,209,000 after buying an additional 158,261 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 454.0% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,405,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,080,000 after buying an additional 1,152,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,282,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,521,000 after buying an additional 290,019 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HCSG opened at $21.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.33. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.03 and a 12 month high of $25.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.81.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.22 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 6.59%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.44) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Healthcare Services Group news, COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.24, for a total transaction of $362,497.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 22,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,500.84. This represents a 40.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HCSG. Weiss Ratings raised Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.20.

Healthcare Services Group Company Profile

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.