Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 29,628 Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Free Report) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,727 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,628 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Healthcare Services Group worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 483,511 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 195,516 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,266,785 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,714,000 after purchasing an additional 140,708 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 176,825 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management acquired a new position in Healthcare Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,757,000. Finally, Caption Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 0.6%

HCSG traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 560,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 503,481. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.63. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.13 and a twelve month high of $14.90.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.05. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 2.30%. The firm had revenue of $447.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $443.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HCSG. Macquarie increased their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group raised Healthcare Services Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Healthcare Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Services Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.80.

Healthcare Services Group Company Profile

Healthcare Services Group, Inc provides management, administrative, and operating services to the housekeeping, laundry, linen, facility maintenance, and dietary service departments of nursing homes, retirement complexes, rehabilitation centers, and hospitals in the United States. It operates through two segments, Housekeeping and Dietary.