Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Short Interest Down 11.6% in November

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a decline of 11.6% from the October 31st total of 2,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 804.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 85.7% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 3,774 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $116,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Healthcare Services Group during the second quarter worth about $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:HCSG traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.34. 355,665 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,391. The firm has a market cap of $904.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 0.52. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.94.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.03. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 2.95%. The business had revenue of $428.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

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.