Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) was upgraded by analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.
SPKE has been the subject of a number of other reports. FBR & Co lifted their price target on shares of Spark Energy from $18.50 to $23.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Guggenheim upgraded Spark Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Spark Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $22.95 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Wunderlich lifted their price objective on Spark Energy from $22.00 to $27.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Spark Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Spark Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.
Shares of Spark Energy (NASDAQ SPKE) traded down 4.57% during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.85. The stock had a trading volume of 103,243 shares. The stock has a market cap of $263.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34 and a beta of -1.64. Spark Energy has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $23.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.92 and its 200-day moving average is $17.34.
Spark Energy (NASDAQ:SPKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. Spark Energy had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 2.10%. The company had revenue of $194.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.07 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Spark Energy will post $1.41 EPS for the current year.
Spark Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the utilities provider to reacquire up to 19.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
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In other Spark Energy news, Director W Keith Maxwell III acquired 10,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.23 per share, with a total value of $365,923.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 310,710 shares in the company, valued at $11,257,023.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nathan Kroeker sold 21,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $916,253.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,462.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 47,605 shares of company stock worth $1,815,426 and sold 172,586 shares worth $4,124,016. Corporate insiders own 66.89% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crow Point Partners LLC boosted its position in Spark Energy by 68.1% in the second quarter. Crow Point Partners LLC now owns 1,022,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,203,000 after buying an additional 414,395 shares during the period. Spark Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Spark Energy by 95.3% in the second quarter. Spark Investment Management LLC now owns 507,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,539,000 after buying an additional 247,600 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Spark Energy during the second quarter valued at about $4,237,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Spark Energy by 89.0% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 432,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,813,000 after buying an additional 203,605 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Spark Energy during the first quarter valued at about $6,390,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.61% of the company’s stock.
Spark Energy Company Profile
Spark Energy, Inc is an independent retail energy services company. The Company provides residential and commercial customers across the United States with an alternative choice for their natural gas and electricity. The Company operates through two segments: Retail Natural Gas Segment and Retail Electricity Segment.
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