Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.50 and traded as high as $38.97. Standard Motor Products shares last traded at $38.17, with a volume of 631,187 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SMP. Zacks Research upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 1.9%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $839.70 million, a PE ratio of 27.26 and a beta of 0.72.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.22. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The firm had revenue of $498.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $503.33 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 88.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In related news, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total transaction of $51,934.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 37,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,435,024.40. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dale Burks sold 1,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $45,194.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 60,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,306,272.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,895 shares of company stock worth $606,215. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 2.1% in the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,300 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Standard Motor Products by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 29,815 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $916,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 54,801 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4,842.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

About Standard Motor Products

Standard Motor Products, Inc, headquartered in Long Island City, New York, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment automotive parts. Since its founding in 1919, the company has focused on engineering, testing, and supplying ignition and temperature management products for passenger cars and light trucks. Its product lineup includes ignition coils, spark plug wires, sensors, switches, heating and air conditioning controls, and related electronic components.

The company operates through two primary segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control.