Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

SMP stock opened at $37.40 on Friday. Standard Motor Products has a twelve month low of $21.38 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $828.41 million, a P/E ratio of 20.22 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.60 and its 200-day moving average is $39.43.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 2.31%.The firm had revenue of $385.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.91 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In related news, VP Ray Nicholas sold 9,093 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $345,624.93. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 40,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543,548.09. This represents a 18.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 7,560.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,149 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Standard Motor Products by 235.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,298 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in Standard Motor Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $99,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.26% of the company’s stock.

About Standard Motor Products

Standard Motor Products, Inc, headquartered in Long Island City, New York, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of aftermarket and original equipment automotive parts. Since its founding in 1919, the company has focused on engineering, testing, and supplying ignition and temperature management products for passenger cars and light trucks. Its product lineup includes ignition coils, spark plug wires, sensors, switches, heating and air conditioning controls, and related electronic components.

The company operates through two primary segments: Engine Management and Temperature Control.