Head to Head Contrast: Spok (SPOK) and Its Rivals

Spok (NASDAQ:SPOK – Get Rating) is one of 27 publicly-traded companies in the “Radiotelephone communication” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Spok to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Spok and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spok	$142.15 million	-$22.18 million	-4.97
Spok Competitors	$17.83 billion	$970.47 million	10.16

Spok’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Spok. Spok is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk & Volatility

Spok has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spok’s rivals have a beta of 5.86, suggesting that their average stock price is 486% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Spok and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spok	0	0	0	0	N/A
Spok Competitors	168	586	1085	44	2.53

As a group, “Radiotelephone communication” companies have a potential upside of 82.77%. Given Spok’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Spok has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

58.7% of Spok shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.4% of shares of all “Radiotelephone communication” companies are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of Spok shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of shares of all “Radiotelephone communication” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Spok and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spok	-19.36%	-4.38%	-3.09%
Spok Competitors	-39.07%	28.52%	-4.75%

Dividends

Spok pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.0%. Spok pays out -89.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Radiotelephone communication” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.4% and pay out 85.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Spok has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Spok is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

About Spok (Get Rating)

Spok Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Spok, Inc., provides healthcare communication solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. It delivers clinical information to care teams when and where it matters to enhance patient outcomes. The company offers subscriptions to one-way or two-way messaging services; and ancillary services, such as voicemail, and equipment loss or maintenance protection services, as well as sells devices to resellers who lease or resell them to their subscribers. Its Spok Care Connect platform enhance workflows for clinicians and support administrative compliance. In addition, the company provides professional, software license updates, and product support services, as well as sells third-party equipment. It serves businesses, professionals, management personnel, medical personnel, field sales personnel and service forces, members of the construction industry and construction trades, real estate brokers and developers, sales and services organizations, specialty trade organizations, manufacturing organizations, and government agencies. The company was formerly known as USA Mobility, Inc. and changed its name to Spok Holdings, Inc. in July 2014. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.

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