Standard Motor Products, Inc. $SMP Shares Sold by Azarias Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Azarias Capital Management cut its Standard Motor Products stake by 50.3% in the third quarter, selling 60,941 shares and retaining 60,132 shares valued at approximately $2.23 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with two Buy ratings and one Hold rating, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and a $54 price target versus the reported share price of $36.25.
• Standard Motor Products exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.40 EPS and $526.7 million in revenue, while its $0.33 quarterly dividend provides a 3.6% annualized yield.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. reduced its position in shares of Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE:SMP - Free Report) by 50.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,132 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 60,941 shares during the period. Standard Motor Products makes up 2.1% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.27% of Standard Motor Products worth $2,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SMP. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Standard Motor Products in the third quarter worth $448,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Standard Motor Products during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $686,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Standard Motor Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $635,000. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target on shares of Standard Motor Products in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Standard Motor Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Standard Motor Products from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Standard Motor Products Price Performance

SMP traded down $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.25. The stock had a trading volume of 123,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,938. The stock has a market cap of $809.83 million, a PE ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.00. Standard Motor Products, Inc. has a one year low of $34.27 and a one year high of $46.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.17 and a 200-day moving average of $38.18.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The auto parts company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $526.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.68 million. Standard Motor Products had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 2.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products, Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Standard Motor Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Standard Motor Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.93%.

Insider Activity at Standard Motor Products

In other Standard Motor Products news, EVP Dale Burks sold 9,051 shares of Standard Motor Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total transaction of $350,364.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,728.05. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 18,349 shares of company stock worth $712,146 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.50% 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 vehicles, serving professional repair shops, parts distributors, and do-it-yourself customers.

Its product portfolio includes engine-management components such as ignition, fuel, emissions, and sensor products, as well as temperature-control parts, including air-conditioning and cooling-system components.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.