Roth Capital Reaffirms Buy Rating for Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP)

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Roth Capital in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $54.00 target price on the auto parts company’s stock. Roth Capital’s price target suggests a potential upside of 45.75% from the company’s previous close.

SMP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP stock opened at $37.05 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $38.17 and its 200 day moving average is $38.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $827.72 million, a P/E ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 0.85. Standard Motor Products has a 12 month low of $34.27 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.01. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $526.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total transaction of $350,364.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 56,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,204,728.05. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 18,349 shares of company stock valued at $712,146 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth $158,258,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter worth $10,882,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 207.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 259,180 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $9,004,000 after acquiring an additional 174,986 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at $5,869,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at $5,492,000. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc (NYSE:SMP) manufactures and distributes replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket. The company supplies components used to maintain and repair passenger vehicles, light trucks, and other vehicles, serving professional repair shops, parts distributors, and do-it-yourself customers.

Its product portfolio includes engine-management components such as ignition, fuel, emissions, and sensor products, as well as temperature-control parts, including air-conditioning and cooling-system components.