Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $24.52 and last traded at $24.3030, with a volume of 2309200 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on HCSG. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.19.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.15. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The business had revenue of $462.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCSG. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 890,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,510,000 after purchasing an additional 46,427 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 91,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 23,700 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 393,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,301,000 after buying an additional 97,833 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $4,004,000 after buying an additional 119,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 8,604 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.