Short Interest in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Rises By 7.7%

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,210,000 shares, a growth of 7.7% from the February 29th total of 2,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 560,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:HCSG traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $12.30. The stock had a trading volume of 476,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,073. The stock has a market cap of $905.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.56. Healthcare Services Group has a 1-year low of $8.75 and a 1-year high of $15.97.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $423.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.57 million. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Healthcare Services Group's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Healthcare Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 122.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,454 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,436 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 64.6% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,582 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares in the last quarter. 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.