Brokerages Set Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Price Target at $24.00

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $22.29 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.82. Healthcare Services Group has a 1 year low of $12.66 and a 1 year high of $24.39.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $462.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.79 million. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCSG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 139,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 4,917 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the first quarter worth $242,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 962.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 200,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,017,000 after buying an additional 181,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 19.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 747,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,240,000 after buying an additional 121,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

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.