Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 119,290 Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC more than doubled its Healthcare Services Group stake in the first quarter, acquiring 119,290 additional shares for a total of 215,824 shares valued at approximately $4.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.97% of HCSG.
• Healthcare Services Group reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, beating analyst expectations of $0.22, while revenue of $470.81 million was slightly below estimates. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $1.01.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed, with HCSG carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $26.20, compared with a recent share price of $23.30.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Free Report) by 123.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,824 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 119,290 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Healthcare Services Group worth $4,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HCSG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,711 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 8,604 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,682 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 8,564 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 14.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,389 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,051,000 after purchasing an additional 26,789 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 64.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 64,104 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 25,100 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 454.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,152,176 shares in the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $23.30 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $22.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.81. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 6.59%.The company had revenue of $470.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCSG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Healthcare Services Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Healthcare Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.20.

Healthcare Services Group 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.

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