$135.72 Million in Sales Expected for Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) This Quarter

Brokerages predict that Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) will announce $135.72 million in sales for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have issued estimates for Spark Energy’s earnings, with the lowest sales estimate coming in at $135.40 million and the highest estimate coming in at $136.04 million. Spark Energy reported sales of $76.19 million during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 78.1%. The firm is expected to report its next earnings report on Thursday, August 10th.

On average, analysts expect that Spark Energy will report full-year sales of $135.72 million for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $737.10 million to $776.52 million. For the next year, analysts expect that the business will report sales of $866.91 million per share, with estimates ranging from $841.00 million to $892.82 million. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are an average based on a survey of research analysts that cover Spark Energy.

Spark Energy (NASDAQ:SPKE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $194.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.07 million. Spark Energy had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 2.10%.

SPKE has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Spark Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. FBR & Co restated a “buy” rating on shares of Spark Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services boosted their price target on shares of Spark Energy from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Spark Energy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott set a $22.00 price target on shares of Spark Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

In related news, Director W Keith Maxwell III sold 56,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total transaction of $1,197,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 689,380 shares in the company, valued at $14,635,537.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nathan Kroeker sold 21,244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $916,253.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 acquired 47,605 shares of company stock valued at $1,815,426 and sold 131,744 shares valued at $3,261,619. Insiders own 66.89% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPKE. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new position in shares of Spark Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Spark Energy by 49.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spark Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $194,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Spark Energy by 63.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Spark Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.56% of the company’s stock.

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Spark Energy (NASDAQ SPKE) traded down 0.49% during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 168,086 shares. Spark Energy has a 52 week low of $11.28 and a 52 week high of $23.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.23 and a beta of -1.65.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be paid a $0.1813 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Spark Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.02%.

Spark Energy declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 24th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to reacquire up to 19.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Spark Energy

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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