HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $34.50 and last traded at $33.9950, with a volume of 64,035 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HSTM shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HealthStream from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of HealthStream to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of HealthStream from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

HealthStream Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.09.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.06. HealthStream had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $83.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.82 million. Equities analysts anticipate that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.0350 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. HealthStream’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Insider Activity at HealthStream

In related news, CEO Robert Frist, Jr. sold 144,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $4,250,006.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,907,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,257,621. This represents a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Linda Rebrovick sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,376,515. This trade represents a 23.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HealthStream

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HealthStream in the 2nd quarter worth $111,184,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HealthStream by 43.8% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276,739 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,441,000 after acquiring an additional 389,186 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of HealthStream during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,199,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in HealthStream during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,894,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of HealthStream in the second quarter valued at $3,349,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc provides workforce and provider solutions designed for healthcare organizations. Its software and services help hospitals, health systems, medical practices and other healthcare providers manage employee education, training, credentialing, compliance and professional development.

The company’s offerings include learning management and education tools, competency and performance-management solutions, and systems for managing provider credentials, privileging and enrollment.