Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its position in Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) by 51.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,025 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Spark Energy worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SPKE. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in shares of Spark Energy during the first quarter worth $109,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake 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. Hancock Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Spark Energy during the first quarter worth $210,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Spark Energy by 1,652.5% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 6,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Spark Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 24.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Spark Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPKE) traded up 2.56% during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.00. The stock had a trading volume of 24,720 shares. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.76. The company has a market cap of $236.61 million, a P/E ratio of 24.79 and a beta of -1.62. Spark Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $23.65.
Spark Energy (NASDAQ:SPKE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $151.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.72 million. Spark Energy had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 1.68%. On average, analysts expect that Spark Energy, Inc. will post $0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.1813 per share. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 25th. Spark Energy’s payout ratio is presently 107.35%.
Spark Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 24th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the utilities provider to repurchase up to 19.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
SPKE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. FBR & Co reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.50 target price (up from $16.50) on shares of Spark Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services lifted their target price on Spark Energy from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. TheStreet upgraded Spark Energy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, May 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott set a $22.00 target price on Spark Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Spark Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Spark Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.08.
In other news, CEO Nathan Kroeker sold 21,244 shares of the company’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 directly owns 28,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,213,462.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director W Keith Maxwell III purchased 1,000 shares of Spark Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $43.63 per share, for a total transaction of $43,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 345,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,077,000.95. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 11,232 shares of company stock worth $416,763 and have sold 175,586 shares worth $4,175,616. Corporate insiders own 66.89% of the company’s stock.
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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