Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 1.9 %

SMP stock opened at $28.00 on Monday. Standard Motor Products has a 52 week low of $26.09 and a 52 week high of $35.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.86 and a 200 day moving average of $31.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $608.22 million, a PE ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.52.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 100.81%.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.11, for a total value of $161,340.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 46,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,582,192.35. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 614 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 3,237.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.