HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $22.72 and last traded at $22.90, with a volume of 185320 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSTM. Wall Street Zen downgraded HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

HealthStream Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.50 and a 200 day moving average of $26.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.43.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $76.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.52 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 6.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that HealthStream, Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $0.031 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio is 17.65%.

HealthStream announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at HealthStream

In other news, Director Tate Deborah Taylor sold 1,580 shares of HealthStream stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,813.42. The trade was a 6.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 31,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $758,570.01. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,680 shares of company stock worth $139,336. Insiders own 20.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HealthStream

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 131.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 2,072 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in HealthStream by 74.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 432,822 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,223,000 after acquiring an additional 184,917 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the third quarter worth approximately $142,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of HealthStream by 9.0% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 274,548 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 22,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in shares of HealthStream during the third quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. 69.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.