Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Upgraded 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 note released on Friday.

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

Spok Price Performance

Shares of SPOK stock opened at $15.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.33 and a 200-day moving average of $15.92. Spok has a one year low of $13.24 and a one year high of $17.96. The stock has a market cap of $324.46 million, a PE ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.29.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $35.50 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Spok will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Spok Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spok

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Spok during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Spok during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Spok by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,837 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Spok by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,546 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.