HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Stock Falls 6.6% on Analyst Downgrade

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) shares were down 6.6% on Tuesday after Craig Hallum downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. Craig Hallum now has a $40.00 price target on the stock. HealthStream traded as low as $33.56 and last traded at $32.2860. Approximately 159,033 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 250,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.58.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of HealthStream from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HealthStream from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HealthStream from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of HealthStream to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HealthStream has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert A. Frist, Jr. sold 144,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $4,250,006.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,907,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,257,621. This trade represents a 3.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Linda Rebrovick sold 12,000 shares of HealthStream stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,376,515. The trade was a 23.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HealthStream

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the 2nd quarter valued at $111,184,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of HealthStream by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,456,043 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,156,000 after purchasing an additional 87,177 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in HealthStream by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276,739 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,441,000 after buying an additional 389,186 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in HealthStream by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 477,848 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,896,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in HealthStream by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 377,945 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,827,000 after buying an additional 65,806 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

HealthStream Trading Down 8.9%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.20 and a 200-day moving average of $25.79. The company has a market capitalization of $864.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.45.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $83.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.24 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 6.25%. On average, research analysts expect that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.0350 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.44%.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc provides workforce and provider solutions designed for healthcare organizations. Its software and services help hospitals, health systems, medical practices and other healthcare providers manage employee education, training, credentialing, compliance and professional development.

The company’s offerings include learning management and education tools, competency and performance-management solutions, and systems for managing provider credentials, privileging and enrollment.