Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $46.49 and last traded at $46.1790, with a volume of 162,144 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SMP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a report on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Standard Motor Products Trading Up 2.9%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.80.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $512.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.99 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 3.77%. Equities analysts expect that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Standard Motor Products news, EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $350,364.21. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,955 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,728.05. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,349 shares of company stock valued at $712,146. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMP. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $158,258,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 996,928 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $34,633,000 after acquiring an additional 16,664 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Standard Motor Products during the 2nd quarter worth $10,882,000. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 276,773 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $10,786,000 after purchasing an additional 29,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,869,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc (NYSE:SMP) manufactures and distributes replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket. The company supplies components used to maintain and repair passenger vehicles, light trucks, and other transportation equipment, serving automotive parts distributors, retailers, repair shops, and vehicle service professionals.

Its product offerings include engine management components such as sensors, ignition parts, fuel system components, and emissions-related products.