Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 159,878 Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Free Report) by 39.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 560,588 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 159,878 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.76% of Healthcare Services Group worth $5,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HCSG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 804.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 44.4% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 85.7% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,180 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 3,774 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Healthcare Services Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Healthcare Services Group by 131.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,718 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 8,359 shares during the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Healthcare Services Group stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 405,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,679. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.08. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.98 and a 12 month high of $13.00. The stock has a market cap of $815.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.55.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.03. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 12.59% and a net margin of 2.95%. The company had revenue of $428.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Healthcare Services Group's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut Healthcare Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Macquarie initiated coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Four 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group 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.