Short Interest in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Grows By 19.0%

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 858,184 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the January 29th total of 721,415 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 122,896 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 122,896 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMP has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:SMP traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.63. The stock had a trading volume of 92,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,674. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.45. The company has a market capitalization of $833.50 million, a PE ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 0.75. Standard Motor Products has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $385.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $385.91 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 71.35%.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $345,624.93. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 40,609 shares in the company, valued at $1,543,548.09. This represents a 18.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 3.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 114,036 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 320.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 64,037 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 48,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 4,842.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

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.