Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie restated a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Healthcare Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.40.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

HCSG opened at $19.09 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group has a one year low of $9.13 and a one year high of $20.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.35 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.94.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $464.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $460.36 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 2.20%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCSG. Cambria Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 25.0% in the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 39,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 7,803 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 61,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $176,000. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $460,000. 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.