Short Interest in Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Grows By 33.3%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,592. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,655,886 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $51,299,000 after buying an additional 69,000 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Standard Motor Products by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 929,813 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,806,000 after acquiring an additional 19,180 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Standard Motor Products by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 783,593 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,015,000 after purchasing an additional 19,652 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 717,457 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $22,227,000 after purchasing an additional 32,197 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 worth $15,405,000 after purchasing an additional 86,640 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.74. 185,611 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,284. Standard Motor Products has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $35.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.07 million, a PE ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.57.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last posted 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 net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $343.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.81%.

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.