Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $17.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price target suggests a potential upside of 60.08% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on HCSG. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

NASDAQ HCSG traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $10.62. The company had a trading volume of 162,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,298. The company has a market capitalization of $782.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.52. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.75 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.72 and its 200 day moving average is $10.89.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $426.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,629,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,488,000 after purchasing an additional 167,779 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Healthcare Services Group during the first quarter worth about $344,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in Healthcare Services Group in the first quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 2,692.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 979,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,178,000 after acquiring an additional 944,658 shares during the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Healthcare Services Group

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.