Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 744,527 Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 91.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,561,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 744,527 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 2.11% of Healthcare Services Group worth $16,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group in the third quarter valued at about $3,253,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 12.9% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,534 shares in the last quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 29.3% in the third quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 241,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 54,668 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the third quarter worth about $370,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 39.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,867,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,475,000 after acquiring an additional 531,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of Healthcare Services Group stock opened at $12.53 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.53. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.75 and a 52-week high of $15.97. The firm has a market cap of $921.99 million, a PE ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.48.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 2.30%. The firm had revenue of $423.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCSG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

About Healthcare Services Group

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.