HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) Short Interest Up 37.9% in February

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,318,705 shares, an increase of 37.9% from the January 29th total of 956,163 shares. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 427,006 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 427,006 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of HealthStream in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of HealthStream from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.00.

HealthStream Price Performance

HSTM traded up $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.70. 289,475 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 351,971. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.73. HealthStream has a fifty-two week low of $19.50 and a fifty-two week high of $34.13. The stock has a market cap of $643.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $79.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.21 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 5.98% and a net margin of 6.03%. Research analysts anticipate that HealthStream will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.035 dividend. This is a positive change from HealthStream’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. HealthStream’s payout ratio is presently 19.67%.

HealthStream declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at HealthStream

In other news, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total transaction of $48,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,208.98. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $50,589.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,570.01. This represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 20.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HealthStream

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSTM. Danske Bank A S increased its position in HealthStream by 175.0% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HealthStream by 2,035.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HealthStream during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,407 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of HealthStream by 131.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

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.