Great Lakes Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 91,525 Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 91,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Healthcare Services Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the second quarter valued at about $279,379,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised 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 valued at $26,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,176 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 80.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,981,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,354,000 after acquiring an additional 882,213 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Services Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,438,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1,116.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 448,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,746,000 after acquiring an additional 411,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HCSG. UBS Group upped their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Healthcare Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Healthcare Services Group

In other news, COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.24, for a total value of $362,497.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HCSG opened at $22.77 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.42. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.13 and a fifty-two week high of $25.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company posted ($0.44) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.