Verition Fund Management LLC Takes $231,000 Position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 807,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,015,000 after purchasing an additional 374,301 shares during the period. Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 50.7% during the second quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,226,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,979,000 after buying an additional 412,704 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 12.2% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,318,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,983,000 after buying an additional 142,997 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 4,449,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,701,000 after acquiring an additional 290,621 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,057,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,766,000 after acquiring an additional 181,231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HCSG. StockNews.com downgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ HCSG opened at $12.54 on Monday. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $11.48 and a 200-day moving average of $11.04. The stock has a market cap of $919.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.55.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 12.59%. The firm had revenue of $428.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

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.