Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SMP opened at $31.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.87. Standard Motor Products has a fifty-two week low of $26.09 and a fifty-two week high of $41.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $673.71 million, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.52.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.19. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $399.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Carmine Joseph Broccole sold 913 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $31,918.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,241 shares in the company, valued at $2,840,185.36. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Ray Nicholas sold 4,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.11, for a total transaction of $161,340.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 46,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,582,192.35. The trade was a 9.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,184 shares of company stock valued at $387,041. Company insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMP. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 485,299 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,210 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 783,593 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $26,015,000 after purchasing an additional 19,652 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,876,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 274.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 37,119 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 27,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 99,345 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 31,826 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.