Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG Shares Sold by Marathon Asset Management Ltd

Marathon Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 26.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 939,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 335,589 shares during the period. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Healthcare Services Group were worth $15,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 163.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,356 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 94.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the second quarter worth about $60,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 600.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 8,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $156,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on HCSG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.40.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 0.1%

HCSG opened at $19.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.23. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.13 and a 12-month high of $20.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.75.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $464.34 million during 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%.Healthcare Services Group’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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.