Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

HCSG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Macquarie initiated coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Services Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of Healthcare Services Group stock opened at $11.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.26. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00. The company has a market cap of $837.70 million, a P/E ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.56.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $428.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $429.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Healthcare Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 175,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 78,391 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,674,000 after purchasing an additional 50,375 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 11.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 773,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,642,000 after purchasing an additional 76,456 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 86.5% in the third 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 39.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 560,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,858,000 after purchasing an additional 159,878 shares during the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is currently 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.