Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Short Interest Down 26.6% in February

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 524,300 shares, a drop of 26.6% from the February 13th total of 714,400 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 125,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:SMP traded down $0.37 on Monday, hitting $26.18. The stock had a trading volume of 177,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,346. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Standard Motor Products has a 52 week low of $25.68 and a 52 week high of $35.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.05 and its 200 day moving average is $31.47. The company has a market cap of $572.24 million, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.50.

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. The company had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is presently 100.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In other news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $299,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,592. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Probity Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 10,671 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,660 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,900 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 36,364 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,293 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 35,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

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.