Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Standard Motor Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Standard Motor Products presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMP opened at $40.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.86 and a 200-day moving average of $38.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 2.00. Standard Motor Products has a twelve month low of $34.27 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The firm has a market cap of $912.30 million, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 0.82.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $526.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Standard Motor Products will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $231,424.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 35,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,404,248.25. This trade represents a 14.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 76.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7,560.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,149 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 235.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.