Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) saw a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,950,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the March 15th total of 3,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 525,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Three investment 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, Healthcare Services Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the first quarter worth $55,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 122.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Healthcare Services Group by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HCSG traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.66. 149,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 531,959. Healthcare Services Group has a 12-month low of $8.75 and a 12-month high of $15.97. The company has a market cap of $858.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.67.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.04. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 2.30%. The business had revenue of $423.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.