Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) Short Interest Update

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 663,700 shares, an increase of 64.1% from the October 31st total of 404,400 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 171,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

SMP stock opened at $32.78 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.04. 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 cap of $711.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.51. Standard Motor Products has a fifty-two week low of $26.09 and a fifty-two week high of $41.71.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $399.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Standard Motor Products’s payout ratio is 71.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Carmine Joseph Broccole sold 913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,840,185.36. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eric Sills sold 1,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total transaction of $60,183.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,142,515.47. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,454 shares of company stock worth $225,701 in the last quarter. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Standard Motor Products by 153.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 906 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 10,000 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Standard Motor Products by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,533 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Standard Motor Products by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,198 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Standard Motor Products by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,396 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.