Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 355,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,492 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Healthcare Services Group worth $4,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HCSG. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 4,449,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,701,000 after buying an additional 290,621 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,964,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,112,000 after acquiring an additional 226,818 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after acquiring an additional 50,375 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,166,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 86.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Macquarie began coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HCSG opened at $10.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.23 and a 200-day moving average of $11.23. The company has a market cap of $767.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.56. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.70 and a 1 year high of $13.00.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.04). Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 2.30% and a return on equity of 11.76%. Analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.74 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.