The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires Shares of 28,504 Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 28,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Healthcare Services Group during the second quarter valued at $279,379,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,152,176 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 882,213 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth $10,438,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Healthcare Services Group by 1,116.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 448,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,746,000 after buying an additional 411,908 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HCSG shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Healthcare Services Group news, COO Andrew Kush sold 15,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 40.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Healthcare Services Group Price Performance

NASDAQ HCSG opened at $21.82 on Monday. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.13 and a fifty-two week high of $25.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.80.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 18.97% and a net margin of 6.59%.The company had revenue of $470.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Healthcare Services Group Company Profile

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.