Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Grows Stake in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 71.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,233 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Healthcare Services Group worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 100.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 804.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 85.7% during the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 3,774 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the third quarter worth about $116,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group during the third quarter worth about $156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HCSG. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie began coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.00.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of Healthcare Services Group stock opened at $10.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $776.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.23. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $9.70 and a one year high of $13.00.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Services Group 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.