Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.80.

HCSG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Healthcare Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $14.91. 1,078,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 510,875. Healthcare Services Group has a 1-year low of $9.13 and a 1-year high of $15.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.29 and a 200-day moving average of $11.91.

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

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HCSG. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 357,906 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 10,325 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 355,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,128,000 after buying an additional 9,492 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 324,862 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,773,000 after buying an additional 135,233 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 720,267 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,366,000 after acquiring an additional 104,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at $118,000. 97.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.