Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) Short Interest Up 20.5% in August

Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 433,700 shares, a growth of 20.5% from the August 15th total of 359,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 119,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Spok from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spok

In related news, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.80, for a total value of $370,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 49,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $732,082. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.83, for a total value of $667,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 201,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,990,395.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.80, for a total value of $370,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 49,465 shares in the company, valued at $732,082. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPOK. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok during the 4th quarter worth $681,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in Spok by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 55,951 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Spok in the 4th quarter worth about $126,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Spok by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,738 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 13,245 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Spok in the first quarter worth about $170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.81% of the company’s stock.

Spok Stock Up 0.1 %

SPOK traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.46. The stock had a trading volume of 13,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,351. Spok has a 1-year low of $13.20 and a 1-year high of $18.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.40.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Spok had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 11.19%. The firm had revenue of $33.98 million for the quarter.

Spok Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.313 per share. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Spok’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.60%.

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.