Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Healthcare Services Group has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• Despite this upgrade, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "strong-buy" to "buy" recently, indicating a mixed sentiment among analysts.
• In its most recent earnings report, Healthcare Services Group posted an EPS of $0.21, beating expectations and showing a 7.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HCSG. Wall Street Zen cut Healthcare Services Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group raised Healthcare Services Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $12.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Macquarie raised Healthcare Services Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $16.25.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ HCSG opened at $15.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 107.79 and a beta of 0.54. Healthcare Services Group has a 12 month low of $9.13 and a 12 month high of $15.73.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 0.61%. The business had revenue of $458.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Christopher Shea sold 21,368 shares of the 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 53,175 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,233 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 6.5% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,721 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 8.3% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 15,925 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 73,841 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is 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.

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