Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) Short Interest Up 27.6% in March

Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 657,600 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the February 29th total of 515,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 151,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Spok Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SPOK traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 160,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,832. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.81. Spok has a twelve month low of $9.87 and a twelve month high of $18.14. The company has a market cap of $321.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.28.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Spok had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $33.95 million for the quarter.

Spok Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.313 per share. This is a positive change from Spok's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Spok's dividend payout ratio is currently 162.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spok news, Director Todd J. Stein sold 25,927 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $464,611.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 696,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,483,735.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spok

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPOK. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Spok during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Spok during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Spok by 62,887.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,039 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 5,031 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spok during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Spok by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,634 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,903 shares in the last quarter. 50.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.