Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 0.5%

SMP opened at $37.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.04. Standard Motor Products has a 1-year low of $21.38 and a 1-year high of $42.13. The stock has a market cap of $815.01 million, a PE ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 0.76.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The auto parts company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $498.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $503.33 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 13.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Standard Motor Products news, CFO Nathan R. Iles sold 1,356 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $51,934.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 37,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,435,024.40. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dale Burks sold 1,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.30, for a total value of $45,194.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 60,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,306,272.80. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,895 shares of company stock valued at $606,215 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMP. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in Standard Motor Products by 21.1% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 956,691 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,390,000 after buying an additional 166,481 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 498,980 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,330,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Standard Motor Products by 5.5% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 438,010 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $17,880,000 after acquiring an additional 22,906 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Standard Motor Products by 5.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 327,080 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,048,000 after purchasing an additional 15,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 25.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 277,109 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $11,312,000 after purchasing an additional 55,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

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.