Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Short Interest Down 30.5% in January

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,528,208 shares, a decrease of 30.5% from the January 15th total of 2,198,756 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 530,104 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 530,104 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HCSG shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on Healthcare Services Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ HCSG traded up $0.25 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.59. 695,466 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,883. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33 and a beta of 0.75. Healthcare Services Group has a 1 year low of $9.13 and a 1 year high of $22.98.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $466.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.24 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 16.04% and a net margin of 3.21%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Healthcare Services Group will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Services Group Company 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.