Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Standard Motor Products Trading Down 1.0%

SMP opened at $32.63 on Friday. Standard Motor Products has a 52 week low of $21.38 and a 52 week high of $35.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $717.27 million, a P/E ratio of 23.31 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.93.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $413.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.38 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 2.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Standard Motor Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Standard Motor Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.57%.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SMP. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Standard Motor Products by 188.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,295 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 68.0% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,200 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.