Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $38.25, but opened at $41.40. Standard Motor Products shares last traded at $42.8440, with a volume of 30,001 shares trading hands.

The auto parts company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 13.28%.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SMP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $350,364.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,204,728.05. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 18,349 shares of company stock valued at $712,146 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $158,258,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 996,928 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $34,633,000 after buying an additional 16,664 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at $10,882,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 11.7% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 276,773 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,786,000 after acquiring an additional 29,063 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products during the second quarter worth $5,869,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 12.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $964.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc (NYSE:SMP) manufactures and distributes replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket. The company supplies components used to maintain and repair passenger vehicles, light trucks, and other transportation equipment, serving automotive parts distributors, retailers, repair shops, and vehicle service professionals.

Its product offerings include engine management components such as sensors, ignition parts, fuel system components, and emissions-related products.