StockNews.com Upgrades Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) to “Strong-Buy”

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

NYSE SMP opened at $31.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $677.86 million, a PE ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.52. Standard Motor Products has a 12-month low of $26.09 and a 12-month high of $41.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $399.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.10 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. Standard Motor Products’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $51,930.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,014,654.55. This trade represents a 4.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Sills sold 1,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $60,183.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,651 shares in the company, valued at $6,142,515.47. This trade represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,184 shares of company stock worth $387,041 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 153.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,031 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 64.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $83,000. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc manufactures and distributes replacement automotive parts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Vehicle Control, Temperature Control, and Engineered Solutions segments. The company provides components for the ignition, emissions, and fuel delivery systems, such as air injection and induction components, air management valves, regulators and solenoids, exhaust gas recirculation components, fuel injectors and related components, fuel valves, ignition coils, connectors and sockets, modules, pumps, relays and fuses, starting and charging system parts, and vapor and purge components.