Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, B. Riley raised Spok from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Spok Stock Down 0.1 %

Spok stock opened at $15.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.92. Spok has a 12-month low of $13.24 and a 12-month high of $17.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.29.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). Spok had a net margin of 10.66% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $33.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spok will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Spok Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is currently 168.92%.

Institutional Trading of Spok

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Spok by 273.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,078 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 17,637 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Spok by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,998 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Spok by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 110,997 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 44,896 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Spok by 2,263.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 198,419 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 190,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Spok by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,479 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 4,130 shares during the last quarter. 50.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Spok

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.