HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $23.77 and last traded at $24.20, with a volume of 7830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HealthStream has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

HealthStream Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.45.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $76.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.52 million. Analysts forecast that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

HealthStream Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.031 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio is 17.65%.

HealthStream announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of HealthStream stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $50,589.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,570.01. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tate Deborah Taylor sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total value of $40,226.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,127 shares in the company, valued at $588,813.42. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 5,680 shares of company stock worth $139,336 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 20.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HealthStream

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSTM. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in HealthStream by 162.1% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 380,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,531,000 after buying an additional 235,382 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of HealthStream by 302.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,905 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,860,000 after acquiring an additional 186,231 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in HealthStream by 15.6% during the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 882,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,431,000 after acquiring an additional 119,260 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in HealthStream by 77.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 251,953 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 109,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HealthStream during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,228,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.