Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) was upgraded by equities researchers at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, August 1st.
A number of other brokerages have also commented on SPKE. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Spark Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 24th. TheStreet upgraded Spark Energy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, May 8th. FBR & Co restated a “buy” rating on shares of Spark Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered Spark Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $22.95 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Finally, Wunderlich raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.08.
Spark Energy (SPKE) opened at 18.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $238.58 million, a P/E ratio of 25.00 and a beta of -1.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.99 and a 200 day moving average of $29.46. Spark Energy has a 52 week low of $16.60 and a 52 week high of $23.65.
Spark Energy (NASDAQ:SPKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.15. Spark Energy had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company had revenue of $151.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.72 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Spark Energy will post $0.68 earnings per share for the current year.
Spark Energy announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 24th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the utilities provider to reacquire up to 19.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
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In other Spark Energy news, CEO Nathan Kroeker bought 1,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.30 per share, with a total value of $46,682.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gil Melman sold 3,000 shares of Spark Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $51,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 51,380 shares of company stock worth $1,914,818 and sold 175,586 shares worth $4,175,616. Company insiders own 66.89% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Spark Energy by 85.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,226,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,057,000 after buying an additional 563,480 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spark Energy by 118.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,220,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,941,000 after buying an additional 661,547 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Spark Energy by 108.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,065,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,026,000 after buying an additional 554,707 shares in the last quarter. Crow Point Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Spark Energy by 90.6% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 823,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,491,000 after buying an additional 391,646 shares in the last quarter. 22.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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.
To view ValuEngine’s full report, visit ValuEngine’s official website.
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