Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 1.4 %

HCSG stock opened at $12.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.05. Healthcare Services Group has a twelve month low of $8.98 and a twelve month high of $13.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $906.61 million, a PE ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Healthcare Services Group in the third quarter valued at $9,166,000. Azarias Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,226,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,979,000 after purchasing an additional 412,704 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 86.5% during the 3rd 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. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 4,449,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,701,000 after buying an additional 290,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,217,000. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.