Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The auto parts company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 2.51%.The firm had revenue of $526.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $511.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share.

Standard Motor Products Trading Up 3.5%

SMP traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 110,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,389. Standard Motor Products has a fifty-two week low of $31.58 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The stock has a market cap of $893.57 million, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.80 and its 200-day moving average is $38.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 5,822 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 35,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,404,248.25. This trade represents a 14.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 296,792 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $10,937,000 after purchasing an additional 134,936 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,636 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 125,968 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,642,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,931 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 4,202 shares during the period. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.