Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.41 and last traded at $44.57, with a volume of 11799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.95.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SMP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $985.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average of $38.63.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, February 16th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 4,842.1% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 939 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Standard Motor Products by 235.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. 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.