Short Interest in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Increases By 19.0%

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 858,184 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the January 29th total of 721,415 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 122,896 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 122,896 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $345,624.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 40,609 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,548.09. The trade was a 18.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMP. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 155,121 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,765,000 after acquiring an additional 33,440 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,024,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at $1,251,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 28.1% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 415,104 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,752,000 after purchasing an additional 91,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter worth $1,120,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

SMP stock traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.53. The company had a trading volume of 125,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,030. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.45. The company has a market capitalization of $853.44 million, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.75. Standard Motor Products has a 1 year low of $21.38 and a 1 year high of $46.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $385.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.91 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 2.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.