Andrew Kush Sells 15,598 Shares of Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Stock

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.24, for a total transaction of $362,497.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 22,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,500.84. This represents a 40.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 3.5%

HCSG opened at $22.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.20. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.69 and a fifty-two week high of $25.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.81.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted ($0.44) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $69,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 200,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HCSG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.20.

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.