HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) Short Interest Down 22.2% in December

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) saw a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 744,111 shares, a decrease of 22.2% from the December 15th total of 956,817 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 238,827 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 238,827 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at HealthStream

In related news, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.26, for a total value of $48,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $397,208.98. This trade represents a 10.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 23,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $588,813.42. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,680 shares of company stock worth $139,336. 20.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HealthStream

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HSTM. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of HealthStream by 162.1% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 380,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,531,000 after purchasing an additional 235,382 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in HealthStream by 302.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 247,905 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,860,000 after buying an additional 186,231 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in HealthStream by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 882,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,431,000 after buying an additional 119,260 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in HealthStream by 77.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 251,953 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,972,000 after buying an additional 109,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC acquired a new position in shares of HealthStream during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,911,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSTM. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 target price on HealthStream in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

HealthStream Price Performance

NASDAQ:HSTM traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 349,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,083. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.93. The stock has a market cap of $632.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.43. HealthStream has a 1 year low of $21.06 and a 1 year high of $34.24.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.03. HealthStream had a return on equity of 5.82% and a net margin of 6.93%.The business had revenue of $76.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.52 million. Analysts anticipate that HealthStream will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.031 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HealthStream’s payout ratio is presently 17.65%.

HealthStream announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.