Short Interest in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Drops By 26.6%

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 524,300 shares, a decline of 26.6% from the February 13th total of 714,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 125,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Standard Motor Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMP traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $26.60. 96,058 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,205. The firm has a market capitalization of $581.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $29.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.39. Standard Motor Products has a 12 month low of $25.68 and a 12 month high of $35.92.

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Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. On average, equities analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products's payout ratio is currently 100.81%.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,592. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 4th quarter worth about $753,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 485,299 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $16,115,000 after purchasing an additional 27,210 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 783,593 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $26,015,000 after purchasing an additional 19,652 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,876,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 274.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,119 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 27,210 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

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.