Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

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

Spok Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ SPOK opened at $15.20 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.02. Spok has a 12-month low of $13.24 and a 12-month high of $17.96. The firm has a market cap of $310.37 million, a PE ratio of 20.82 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Spok Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is presently 168.92%.

Institutional Trading of Spok

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPOK. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spok during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Spok by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,546 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Spok by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,868 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Spok by 2,378.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,864 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 9,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Spok during the fourth quarter valued at about $183,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.