HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Trading Up 7.5% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) shares were up 7.5% during trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $26.72 and last traded at $25.91. Approximately 56,462 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 100,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.11.

The technology company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $72.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.88 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 4.71% and a net margin of 5.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 EPS.

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.028 per share. This represents a $0.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from HealthStream’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. HealthStream’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSTM. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays began coverage on HealthStream in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded HealthStream from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at HealthStream

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HealthStream

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in HealthStream by 568.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in HealthStream in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in HealthStream by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in HealthStream in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in HealthStream in the 1st quarter worth about $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

HealthStream Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.85. The firm has a market cap of $802.81 million, a P/E ratio of 52.82, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.36.

About HealthStream

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.