HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Sees Large Volume Increase

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 107,347 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 98,453 shares.The stock last traded at $24.39 and had previously closed at $23.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on HealthStream in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HealthStream presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

HealthStream Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.81. The stock has a market cap of $755.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.36.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 19th. The technology company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.07. HealthStream had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 4.71%. The business had revenue of $70.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.028 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from HealthStream’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio is 22.00%.

Insider Transactions at HealthStream

In related news, EVP Michael Sousa sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $408,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,806.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Trisha L. Coady sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $184,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,013.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Sousa sold 15,000 shares of HealthStream stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.25, for a total transaction of $408,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,806.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSTM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in HealthStream by 295.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 133,712 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,886,000 after purchasing an additional 99,913 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in HealthStream by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 58,816 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in HealthStream by 2.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 194,988 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in HealthStream by 3.1% in the third quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 635,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,913,000 after acquiring an additional 19,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in HealthStream in the third quarter worth about $252,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HealthStream Company Profile

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.