Benchmark Reaffirms Buy Rating for Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $17.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 44.93% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Macquarie assumed coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Healthcare Services Group stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.73. 31,408 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 484,815. The stock has a market capitalization of $859.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.06. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 804.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 44.4% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased 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 worth $91,000 after buying an additional 3,774 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $116,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the second quarter worth about $124,000. 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.