Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 714,400 shares, an increase of 30.1% from the January 31st total of 549,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 108,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.11, for a total value of $161,340.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 46,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,192.35. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMP. Creative Planning bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 3,237.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 6.4% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 6.8% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,760 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,533 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 1.1 %

SMP stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.80. The stock had a trading volume of 23,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,254. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $603.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.52. Standard Motor Products has a 52-week low of $26.09 and a 52-week high of $35.92.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $343.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.81%.

About Standard Motor Products

Standard Motor Products, Inc manufactures and distributes replacement automotive parts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Vehicle Control, Temperature Control, and Engineered Solutions segments. The company provides components for the ignition, emissions, and fuel delivery systems, such as air injection and induction components, air management valves, regulators and solenoids, exhaust gas recirculation components, fuel injectors and related components, fuel valves, ignition coils, connectors and sockets, modules, pumps, relays and fuses, starting and charging system parts, and vapor and purge components.