Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.82 Million in HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 57,300 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,822,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of HealthStream as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the 4th quarter worth $114,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HealthStream by 1,074.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,747 shares of the technology company's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the 4th quarter worth $183,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HealthStream Price Performance

NASDAQ HSTM traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.09. The company had a trading volume of 194,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 146,569. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.59 and its 200 day moving average is $31.74. The company has a market capitalization of $857.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.50. HealthStream, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.84 and a fifty-two week high of $34.24.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $73.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.93 million. HealthStream had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 5.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HealthStream, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

HealthStream Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.031 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. HealthStream's payout ratio is currently 19.05%.

HealthStream declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 8th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on HSTM shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of HealthStream in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on HealthStream from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.50.

HealthStream 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.