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

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 668,400 shares, a growth of 33.3% from the March 15th total of 501,600 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 160,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,592. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the first quarter valued at $823,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 1.6% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 29,228 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the first quarter valued at approximately $996,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 144.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,604 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 15,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 1.2 %

Standard Motor Products stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $24.23. The company had a trading volume of 147,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,511. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.80. Standard Motor Products has a 12 month low of $21.38 and a 12 month high of $35.92. The company has a market capitalization of $529.72 million, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.57.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $343.35 million for 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.