Heartland Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in HealthStream, Inc. by 18% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.77% of the company valued at $7.58 million.
• HealthStream reported a net loss of $0.14 per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16, with a revenue of $73.49 million compared to expected figures of $74.93 million.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a $25 million stock buyback program, indicating confidence in the stock's value, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.031 per share.

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,584 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 51,812 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.77% of HealthStream worth $7,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in HealthStream by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,055,060 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,151,000 after acquiring an additional 92,067 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in HealthStream by 101.3% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 763,690 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $24,576,000 after buying an additional 384,384 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in HealthStream by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 694,274 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $22,082,000 after buying an additional 19,510 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in HealthStream by 2.4% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 424,790 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,670,000 after buying an additional 10,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in HealthStream by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 306,440 shares of the technology company's stock worth $9,745,000 after buying an additional 36,239 shares during the last quarter. 69.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HealthStream Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:HSTM traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $26.78. The company had a trading volume of 25,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,344. HealthStream, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.72 and a 52-week high of $34.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $27.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $817.31 million, a PE ratio of 42.58, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.42.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). HealthStream had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 5.36%. The company had revenue of $73.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

HealthStream declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 8th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HealthStream Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.031 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. HealthStream's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on HealthStream from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HealthStream currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

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.