Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.29, but opened at $9.95. Healthcare Services Group shares last traded at $9.89, with a volume of 29,115 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCSG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $779.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $10.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.89.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. Healthcare Services Group had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $426.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $424.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Services Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,765,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,629,517 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,488,000 after purchasing an additional 167,779 shares in the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,226,773 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,979,000 after purchasing an additional 412,704 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,318,045 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,983,000 after purchasing an additional 142,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,057,202 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,766,000 after purchasing an additional 181,231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.97% of the company's stock.

Healthcare Services Group Company 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.