Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday.

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

Spok Price Performance

SPOK opened at $15.79 on Thursday. Spok has a one year low of $13.24 and a one year high of $17.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $322.42 million, a P/E ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 0.29.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 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 company had revenue of $33.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.50 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Spok will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Spok Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.92%. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is currently 168.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spok

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Spok by 2,263.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 198,419 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,988,000 after purchasing an additional 190,024 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spok in the fourth quarter worth $1,253,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Spok by 133.9% in the fourth 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 period. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Spok in the fourth quarter worth $801,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Spok by 67.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 44,896 shares during the period. 50.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.