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

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) saw 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 trading volume of 427,006 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 427,006 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

HealthStream Stock Performance

Shares of HSTM stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.16. 160,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,035. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.70. HealthStream has a 12-month low of $19.50 and a 12-month high of $34.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $657.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.45.

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

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from HealthStream’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.67%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,208.98. The trade was a 10.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Jeff Cunningham sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.09, for a total transaction of $50,589.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 31,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $758,570.01. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 20.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HealthStream

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSTM. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in HealthStream by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 887,553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,476,000 after purchasing an additional 51,470 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of HealthStream by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 766,193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,202,000 after buying an additional 38,868 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 762,343 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $21,077,000 after buying an additional 37,004 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of HealthStream by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 452,897 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,448,000 after buying an additional 20,075 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in HealthStream by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 413,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,544,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.