Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Short Interest Down 11.6% in November

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a drop of 11.6% from the October 31st total of 2,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 0.3 %

HCSG stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.34. 355,665 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 367,391. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.94. The stock has a market cap of $904.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 0.52. Healthcare Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $8.98 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $428.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $429.95 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 2.95%. Healthcare Services Group’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 39.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 560,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,858,000 after purchasing an additional 159,878 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 78,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 169.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 145,926 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 91,733 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,674,000 after buying an additional 50,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Healthcare Services Group by 15.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HCSG. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

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.