Short Interest in Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) Drops By 49.0%

Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 141,500 shares, a drop of 49.0% from the April 30th total of 277,600 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 157,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Spok Price Performance

Shares of SPOK opened at $16.18 on Friday. Spok has a fifty-two week low of $13.55 and a fifty-two week high of $17.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.85 million, a PE ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.88 and its 200-day moving average is $16.15.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Spok had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $36.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.00 million. Analysts predict that Spok will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spok Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.3125 per share. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is currently 160.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPOK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Spok from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. B. Riley raised shares of Spok to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.53, for a total transaction of $99,180.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 61,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,222.75. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $492,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,588,198.80. This represents a 15.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPOK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Spok by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 521,571 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 130,478 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Spok in the first quarter valued at $1,337,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Spok in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,253,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Spok by 133.9% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,241 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 60,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Spok by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 110,997 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 44,896 shares during the period. 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.