Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from five brokerages, with an average twelve-month target price of $16.25.
• Recent research reports have led to multiple price target increases, including Benchmark raising it from $17.00 to $19.00 and Zacks Research assigning a "strong-buy" rating.
• In transaction news, EVP John Christopher Shea sold 21,368 shares at an average price of $13.25, resulting in a 39.32% decrease in his ownership stake.

Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.25.

A number of research firms have commented on HCSG. Benchmark upped their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Macquarie raised Healthcare Services Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised Healthcare Services Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised Healthcare Services Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Christopher Shea sold 21,368 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.25, for a total transaction of $283,126.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,932. This represents a 39.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCSG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1,152.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 166,643 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,680,000 after acquiring an additional 153,333 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,128,934 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,620,000 after acquiring an additional 34,037 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the first quarter worth $1,121,000. Palisade Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 2,237,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,558,000 after acquiring an additional 20,720 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the first quarter worth $1,007,000. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

HCSG stock opened at $15.09 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group has a 1 year low of $9.13 and a 1 year high of $15.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.58.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $458.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $450.78 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 0.61%. Healthcare Services Group's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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