HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) Short Interest Down 22.2% in December

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 744,111 shares, a decrease of 22.2% from the December 15th total of 956,817 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 238,827 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 238,827 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other HealthStream news, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total transaction of $48,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,373 shares in the company, valued at $397,208.98. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Tate Deborah Taylor sold 1,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.46, for a total value of $40,226.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,813.42. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,680 shares of company stock worth $139,336. 20.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HealthStream

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in HealthStream by 0.6% in 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 period. Bridge City Capital LLC raised its holdings in HealthStream by 0.8% in 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 grew its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 6.7% in 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 during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSTM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 price objective on shares of HealthStream in a research 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

HealthStream Stock Performance

Shares of HSTM stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.81. The company had a trading volume of 238,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,885. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.94 and its 200 day moving average is $25.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $647.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.43. HealthStream has a 12 month low of $21.60 and a 12 month high of $34.24.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last released 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. The firm 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HealthStream will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Announces Dividend

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

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

HealthStream Company Profile

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.