Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) hit a new 52-week high on Friday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $13.56 and last traded at $13.52, with a volume of 2132211 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.19.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on HCSG. UBS Group raised Healthcare Services Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCSG. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $166,278,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,909,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,031,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 794,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,229,000 after purchasing an additional 234,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,607,000. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.13. The company has a market cap of $996.76 million, a P/E ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $447.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $443.82 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 2.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

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.