Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $13.56 and last traded at $13.52, with a volume of 2132211 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.19.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised Healthcare Services Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $12.00 to $15.00 in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 1,152.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 166,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 153,333 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 102,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 73,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 171,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 2,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 852.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 20,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,019,000 after buying an additional 18,215 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.12. The firm has a market cap of $996.76 million, a PE ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $447.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.82 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 2.30%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

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.