Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HCSG. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie started coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ HCSG opened at $10.60 on Wednesday. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $9.70 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.23. The stock has a market cap of $776.87 million, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.56.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released 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 return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 2.95%. Sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,278,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,276,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,133,000 after buying an additional 23,373 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 4,668,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,226,000 after buying an additional 219,103 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,964,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,112,000 after buying an additional 226,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,523,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,313,000 after buying an additional 208,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

About Healthcare Services Group

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.