Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK) Short Interest Up 22.6% in August

Key Points

• Spok Holdings, Inc. experienced a significant increase in short interest in August, rising by 22.6% to a total of 326,600 shares.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, representing a 7.1% yield based on an annualized rate of $1.25.
• CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 25,000 shares of the company stock in August, decreasing his ownership stake by 19.56%.

Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPOK - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 326,600 shares, a growth of 22.6% from the August 15th total of 266,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 130,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 130,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael W. Wallace sold 10,806 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.87, for a total value of $193,103.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 40,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $721,394.03. The trade was a 21.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Vincent D. Kelly sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.69, for a total value of $442,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,818,832.73. This represents a 19.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spok

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPOK. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Spok during the second quarter valued at approximately $197,634,000. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Spok during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,175,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 130,478 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spok in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Spok by 8,427.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 66,261 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 65,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.81% of the company's stock.

Spok Price Performance

NASDAQ:SPOK traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $17.50. 66,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,661. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.83. Spok has a twelve month low of $13.55 and a twelve month high of $19.31.

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. Spok had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 12.12%.The company had revenue of $35.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.00 million. Spok has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Spok will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spok Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Spok's dividend payout ratio is 150.60%.

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.