Short Interest in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Decreases By 30.7%

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 460,200 shares, a decline of 30.7% from the November 15th total of 663,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 169,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.53. 142,488 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,231. Standard Motor Products has a 1 year low of $26.09 and a 1 year high of $41.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.39 and a 200-day moving average of $31.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $728.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.52.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.19. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. The business had revenue of $399.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Standard Motor Products news, CEO Eric Sills sold 1,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $60,183.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 175,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,142,515.47. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 46,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,582,192.35. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,184 shares of company stock worth $387,041 over the last 90 days. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the second quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 153.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 64.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company's stock.

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.

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