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

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 714,400 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the January 31st total of 549,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 108,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.6 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Standard Motor Products stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.87. 205,755 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,824. The stock has a market cap of $609.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.69. Standard Motor Products has a 12-month low of $26.09 and a 12-month high of $35.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

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Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $343.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. As a group, analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the vice president now owns 46,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,582,192.35. This trade represents a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMP. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth $3,876,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter worth $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,258 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $15,405,000 after acquiring an additional 86,640 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter worth $2,524,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,295,997 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $43,027,000 after acquiring an additional 73,476 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.