HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $79.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.21 million. HealthStream had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.82%.

HealthStream Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HSTM opened at $21.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.90. The stock has a market cap of $630.19 million, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.44. HealthStream has a 1 year low of $19.50 and a 1 year high of $34.13.

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. This is a positive change from HealthStream’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.65%.

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

Insider Transactions at HealthStream

In related news, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $48,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,373 shares in the company, valued at $397,208.98. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total value of $50,589.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $758,570.01. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,680 shares of company stock valued at $139,336. Corporate insiders own 20.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HealthStream in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 241.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,407 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the second quarter worth about $106,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HealthStream in the 3rd quarter valued at about $142,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 101.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,241 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 price objective on shares of HealthStream in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered HealthStream from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

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.