HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) to Buyback $10.00 million in Outstanding Stock

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, March 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HealthStream from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of HealthStream in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

HealthStream Stock Down 0.1%

HealthStream stock opened at $20.30 on Friday. HealthStream has a 52-week low of $19.50 and a 52-week high of $34.13. The company has a market cap of $602.30 million, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.42.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $79.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.21 million. HealthStream had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 5.98%. Research analysts anticipate that HealthStream will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from HealthStream’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio is 22.95%.

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.