HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $24.03 and last traded at $24.0470, with a volume of 106871 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSTM. Wall Street Zen cut HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

HealthStream Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $719.79 million, a PE ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.91.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $76.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.52 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 6.93%. Equities analysts expect that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.031 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.65%.

HealthStream declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at HealthStream

In related news, Director Tate Deborah Taylor sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total transaction of $40,226.80. Following the sale, the director owned 23,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,813.42. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HealthStream

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HealthStream in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of HealthStream by 241.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 62.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,625 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of HealthStream during the second quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of HealthStream in the 3rd quarter worth about $142,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc provides Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based applications for healthcare organizations in the United States. The company’s solutions help healthcare organizations in meeting their ongoing clinical development, talent management, training, education, assessment, competency management, safety and compliance, and scheduling, as well as provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment needs.