91,525 Shares in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG Acquired by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 91,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 123.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 215,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 119,290 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,400,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,534,000 after purchasing an additional 62,689 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 616.2% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 74,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 63,866 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 890,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,510,000 after purchasing an additional 46,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Healthcare Services Group by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 393,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,301,000 after purchasing an additional 97,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $22.77 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.13 and a 1-year high of $25.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.42.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.22 million. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 6.59%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.44) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCSG has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of Healthcare Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.24, for a total transaction of $362,497.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 22,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,500.84. This trade represents a 40.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.