Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Short Interest Update

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 524,300 shares, a decrease 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. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SMP traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.94. The company had a trading volume of 191,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,466. Standard Motor Products has a 12 month low of $25.68 and a 12 month high of $35.92. 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 has a market cap of $566.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.47.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its 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. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. The firm had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. On average, analysts predict that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is 100.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $299,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,592. This trade represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $3,876,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $15,405,000 after purchasing an additional 86,640 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,524,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 331,078 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,257,000 after buying an additional 69,717 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Standard Motor Products

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.