Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on HCSG. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $12.54 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.04. The company has a market cap of $919.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.55.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royce & Associates LP raised its position 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 worth $49,701,000 after purchasing an additional 290,621 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,964,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,112,000 after buying an additional 226,818 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 9.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,057,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,766,000 after acquiring an additional 181,231 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after acquiring an additional 50,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 12.2% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,318,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,983,000 after acquiring an additional 142,997 shares during the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.