Wall Street Zen Downgrades Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) to Buy

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research cut Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Standard Motor Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 0.9%

Standard Motor Products stock opened at $37.40 on Friday. Standard Motor Products has a 52-week low of $21.38 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.45.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $385.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.91 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 13.15%. Sell-side analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $345,624.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 40,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. This trade represents a 18.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7,560.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,149 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 235.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at $99,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.