Marathon Asset Management Ltd Decreases Position in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. $HCSG

Marathon Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCSG) by 26.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 939,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 335,589 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned about 1.30% of Healthcare Services Group worth $15,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Healthcare Services Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,309,000 after acquiring an additional 29,551 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 240.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,496,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,705 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 183.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,278,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,223,000 after purchasing an additional 827,057 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Healthcare Services Group by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 747,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,240,000 after purchasing an additional 121,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Healthcare Services Group by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 746,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,220,000 after purchasing an additional 104,558 shares in the last quarter. 97.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HCSG. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Healthcare Services Group from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Healthcare Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Healthcare Services Group in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Healthcare Services Group in a report on Monday, November 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.40.

Healthcare Services Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of HCSG opened at $19.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.75. Healthcare Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.13 and a 52 week high of $20.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.23.

Healthcare Services Group (NASDAQ:HCSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. Healthcare Services Group had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 2.20%.The company had revenue of $464.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $460.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Healthcare Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Healthcare Services Group, Inc. will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal 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.