Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG Stock Holdings Lifted by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 218,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,789 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Healthcare Services Group were worth $4,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCSG. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 80.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,981,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,354,000 after purchasing an additional 882,213 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1,116.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 448,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,746,000 after buying an additional 411,908 shares during the last quarter. Towle & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $7,396,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth $4,653,000. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.20.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Healthcare Services Group stock opened at $23.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.09. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.78. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.84 and a 1 year high of $25.75.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $470.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.22 million. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 18.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.44) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.