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

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

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

Insider Activity at HealthStream

In other HealthStream news, Director Tate Deborah Taylor sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total transaction of $40,226.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,813.42. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $50,589.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $758,570.01. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,680 shares of company stock valued at $139,336. 20.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HealthStream

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

HealthStream Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ HSTM opened at $22.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $668.47 million, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.13. HealthStream has a 1-year low of $21.99 and a 1-year high of $34.24.

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

HealthStream declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.031 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.65%.

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.