Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HCSG shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. William Blair raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 1.7%

HCSG opened at $21.25 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group has a twelve month low of $12.66 and a twelve month high of $24.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.85.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Services Group

In other news, EVP John Christopher Shea sold 54,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.41, for a total value of $1,109,426.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,849.72. This represents a 64.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Orr sold 45,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total transaction of $934,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $916,392.10. This trade represents a 50.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,962 shares of company stock valued at $3,014,100. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Company Profile

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.