Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG Holdings Lifted by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 393,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,833 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.57% of Healthcare Services Group worth $7,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 119,290 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,400,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,534,000 after purchasing an additional 62,689 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,008,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 616.2% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 74,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 63,866 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 454.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,405,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.20.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $21.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.81. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.20 and a 1-year high of $25.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.25.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.22 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 6.59%.During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.24, for a total value of $362,497.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,500.84. This represents a 40.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.