Standard Motor Products’ (SMP) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Roth Capital

Roth Capital reiterated their buy rating on shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $54.00 target price on the auto parts company’s stock.

SMP has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Standard Motor Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE SMP opened at $46.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.68. Standard Motor Products has a 52-week low of $34.27 and a 52-week high of $46.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Standard Motor Products had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $512.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.99 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Standard Motor Products will post 4.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total value of $350,364.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,204,728.05. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 18,349 shares of company stock valued at $712,146 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the second quarter worth $35,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Standard Motor Products by 89.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,159 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Standard Motor Products by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

Standard Motor Products, Inc (NYSE:SMP) manufactures and distributes replacement parts for the automotive aftermarket. The company supplies components used to maintain and repair passenger vehicles, light trucks, and other transportation equipment, serving automotive parts distributors, retailers, repair shops, and vehicle service professionals.

Its product offerings include engine management components such as sensors, ignition parts, fuel system components, and emissions-related products.