Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

Shares of SMP stock opened at $38.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.00. Standard Motor Products has a fifty-two week low of $34.27 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The firm has a market cap of $866.93 million, a P/E ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.86.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.01. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $526.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $511.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.93%.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $231,424.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 35,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,404,248.25. This trade represents a 14.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the first quarter worth approximately $214,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,596,000 after purchasing an additional 48,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $431,000. Hedge funds and other 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.