HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) Declares Stock Buyback Program

Key Points

• Board approved a $10.0 million stock buyback, authorizing repurchases of up to about 1.7% of shares through open-market purchases.
• Quarterly dividend increased to $0.035 (annualized $0.14, ~0.7% yield); the ex-dividend date is March 9 and the payment date is March 20.
• HealthStream beat the quarter with EPS of $0.18 versus $0.16 expected and revenue of $79.71M versus $76.21M, though analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with a $25 price target.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM - Get Free Report) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, March 13th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

HealthStream Price Performance

HSTM traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.30. 246,680 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 381,878. The stock has a market capitalization of $602.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45. HealthStream has a 52 week low of $19.50 and a 52 week high of $34.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.42.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. HealthStream had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 5.98%. The company had revenue of $79.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.21 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that HealthStream will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

HealthStream Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from HealthStream's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. HealthStream's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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