Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) Short Interest Update

Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the December 31st total of 2,760,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 400,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Services Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 118,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 2,614 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Healthcare Services Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $118,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 720,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,366,000 after buying an additional 104,157 shares during the period. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its position in Healthcare Services Group by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 324,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,773,000 after buying an additional 135,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HCSG shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Healthcare Services Group from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Macquarie assumed coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.80.

Healthcare Services Group Trading Down 0.5 %

HCSG stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.03. 486,988 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,971. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $808.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.56. Healthcare Services Group has a 52-week low of $8.98 and a 52-week high of $13.00.

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.