Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Spok in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Spok Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPOK opened at $14.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $294.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.89. Spok has a 1 year low of $13.36 and a 1 year high of $19.31.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $33.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.90 million. Spok had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 11.88%. Spok has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Spok will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Spok Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. Spok’s payout ratio is presently 156.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 10,806 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.87, for a total value of $193,103.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 40,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,394.03. The trade was a 21.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.69, for a total value of $442,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,818,832.73. The trade was a 19.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spok

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Spok by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,080 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Spok by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Spok by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,613 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Spok by 62.2% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 2,200 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Spok by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,267 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.