Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 25,100 Shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 64.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,100 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Healthcare Services Group were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 454.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,405,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,176 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 66.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 375,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,959,000 after purchasing an additional 149,570 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 9.7% in the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. 97.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Healthcare Services Group news, COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $528,500.84. The trade was a 40.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Up 1.4%

HCSG stock opened at $21.09 on Friday. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.82 and a 52 week high of $25.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.29.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 6.59%.The firm had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.44) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HCSG. Zacks Research raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Healthcare Services Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on Healthcare Services Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.20.

About Healthcare Services Group

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.