Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut Healthcare Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.40.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HCSG traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.91. 435,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 583,884. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.80. Healthcare Services Group has a 52 week low of $9.13 and a 52 week high of $20.26.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $464.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $460.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Healthcare Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCSG. Miller Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 163.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Healthcare Services Group

Healthcare Services Group, Inc (NASDAQ: HCSG) is a leading provider of support services to healthcare facilities across the United States. The company specializes in environmental services, including housekeeping and sanitation, as well as linen and laundry management. In addition, Healthcare Services Group offers dietary and nutrition services, catering to hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities and other long-term care providers.

Founded as a family-owned business in the late 1970s, the company completed its initial public offering in 1997.