Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 103,161 Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 195.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 155,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,161 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Healthcare Services Group were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group in the third quarter worth about $56,527,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,981,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,354,000 after acquiring an additional 882,213 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,766,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,732,000 after purchasing an additional 487,608 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,475,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,209,000 after purchasing an additional 158,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,282,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,521,000 after purchasing an additional 290,019 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.00.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Up 2.8%

Healthcare Services Group stock opened at $24.30 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.66 and a 1-year high of $24.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.21.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.15. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 3.67%.The firm had revenue of $462.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.01 EPS for the current year.

Healthcare Services Group Profile

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.