Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.56 and last traded at $23.63, with a volume of 24592 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Standard Motor Products Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.82. The company has a market capitalization of $508.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.50.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The auto parts company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $343.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.50 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Standard Motor Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.81%.

Insider Transactions at Standard Motor Products

In related news, EVP Dale Burks sold 11,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total transaction of $299,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,546,592. The trade was a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Standard Motor Products

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,876,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Standard Motor Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,710,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Standard Motor Products by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,258 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $15,405,000 after acquiring an additional 86,640 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,524,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Standard Motor Products by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 331,078 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $10,257,000 after acquiring an additional 69,717 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.