Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

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

Spok Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SPOK opened at $14.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.44 million, a P/E ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.02. Spok has a fifty-two week low of $13.24 and a fifty-two week high of $17.96.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last announced its 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 return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $33.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.50 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Spok will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spok Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.3125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.67%. Spok’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 168.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spok

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPOK. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Spok in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted 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 increased its stake in Spok by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,868 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 9,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok in the 4th quarter worth approximately $183,000. Institutional investors own 50.81% of the company’s stock.

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.