Wall Street Zen Upgrades Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) to “Strong-Buy”

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Services Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.40.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $18.88 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group has a 1-year low of $9.13 and a 1-year high of $20.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.71.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $464.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $460.36 million. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group during the third quarter worth approximately $56,527,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,745,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 240.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,496,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,705 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,981,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,354,000 after purchasing an additional 882,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 183.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,278,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,223,000 after buying an additional 827,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

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.