HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

HSTM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 price target on HealthStream in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd.

HealthStream Stock Performance

Shares of HSTM opened at $22.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $661.34 million, a PE ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.34 and its 200 day moving average is $25.59. HealthStream has a fifty-two week low of $21.00 and a fifty-two week high of $34.24.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.03. HealthStream had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.82%. The business had revenue of $76.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.52 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that HealthStream will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.031 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HealthStream’s payout ratio is currently 17.65%.

HealthStream declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $50,589.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,570.01. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total value of $48,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,208.98. This represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,680 shares of company stock valued at $139,336 in the last ninety days. 20.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HealthStream

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of HealthStream by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 68,883 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its stake in HealthStream by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 58,977 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in HealthStream by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,354 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in HealthStream by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in HealthStream by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc is a Nashville, Tennessee–based provider of workforce development and learning management solutions for healthcare organizations. Since its founding in 1990, the company has focused on helping hospitals, clinics and other care providers streamline staff training, ensure regulatory compliance and monitor employee performance. HealthStream’s platform integrates online courses, skill competency assessments and credential management tools to support workforce readiness across the healthcare continuum.

The company’s core offerings include a learning management system (LMS) designed specifically for clinical and nonclinical personnel, a competency management suite that tracks skill acquisition and validation, and a content library featuring evidence-based clinical and compliance training modules.