StockNews.com Upgrades Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Separately, B. Riley raised shares of Spok to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Spok Stock Down 0.6 %

Spok stock opened at $16.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.09. Spok has a 12 month low of $13.55 and a 12 month high of $17.96. The stock has a market cap of $338.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Spok had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $36.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.00 million. On average, analysts expect that Spok will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spok Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is 160.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spok

In related news, CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 30,000 shares of Spok stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $492,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,588,198.80. This trade represents a 15.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.53, for a total transaction of $99,180.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 61,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,011,222.75. This represents a 8.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 10.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spok

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPOK. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Spok by 62.2% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Spok by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 40,116 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Spok by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,269 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Spok by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 18,791 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Spok by 309.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.81% of the company’s stock.

Spok Company Profile

Spok Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiary, Spok, Inc, provides healthcare communication solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. The company's products and services enhance workflows for clinicians and support administrative compliance. It delivers clinical information to care teams when and where it matters to enhance patient outcomes; and provides GenA Pager, a one-way alphanumeric pager.