StockNews.com Lowers HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Separately, William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HealthStream presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $32.00.

HealthStream Stock Down 0.8 %

HealthStream stock opened at $26.81 on Friday. HealthStream has a 52 week low of $20.47 and a 52 week high of $29.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.02 million, a PE ratio of 46.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.38.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The technology company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $72.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.88 million. HealthStream had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 5.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that HealthStream will post 0.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.028 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. HealthStream’s payout ratio is currently 18.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Scott Fenstermacher sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $26,190.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,679.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael Sousa sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total value of $408,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,158,806.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott Fenstermacher sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $26,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,008 shares in the company, valued at $340,679.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock valued at $619,320. Insiders own 20.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HealthStream

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in HealthStream during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Strs Ohio lifted its position in HealthStream by 10.7% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 27,900 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC lifted its position in HealthStream by 21.2% during the third quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 111,321 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after buying an additional 19,499 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in HealthStream by 568.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in HealthStream by 295.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,712 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,886,000 after buying an additional 99,913 shares in the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc provides Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based applications for healthcare organizations in the United States. The company's solutions help healthcare organizations in meeting their ongoing clinical development, talent management, training, education, assessment, competency management, safety and compliance, and scheduling, as well as provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment needs.