Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

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

Spok Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ SPOK opened at $16.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $331.65 million, a PE ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 0.33. Spok has a 1 year low of $13.24 and a 1 year high of $17.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.80.

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

Spok Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.64%. Spok’s payout ratio is 168.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spok

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Spok by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,837 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Spok by 57.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Spok by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,868 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. 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.