Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on SMP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Standard Motor Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP stock opened at $37.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.00. Standard Motor Products has a 52 week low of $21.38 and a 52 week high of $42.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.01 million, a PE ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $498.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $503.33 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $51,934.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 37,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,435,024.40. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Carmine Joseph Broccole sold 1,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.31, for a total value of $43,979.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 83,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,193,789.77. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,895 shares of company stock valued at $606,215. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 405.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 50,990 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after buying an additional 40,898 shares during the period. Cambria Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the third quarter worth about $213,000. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $492,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $285,000. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $538,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

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.