Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" in a note issued Monday, signaling increased buy-side interest.
• Analyst views remain mixed—MarketBeat shows an average "Buy" consensus with a $49.00 target, while Weiss and Wall Street Zen have recently trimmed their ratings.
• SMP beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.56 vs. $0.45) with revenue roughly in line at $385.09M; the company has a market cap of about $839.5M, a P/E of 20.49, and roughly 81.26% institutional ownership.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on SMP. Weiss Ratings lowered Standard Motor Products from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Standard Motor Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Standard Motor Products presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Standard Motor Products Stock Performance

Shares of SMP opened at $37.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Standard Motor Products has a one year low of $22.54 and a one year high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $839.49 million, a P/E ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.05 and a 200 day moving average of $38.79.

Standard Motor Products (NYSE:SMP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The auto parts company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $385.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $385.91 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Standard Motor Products will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Standard Motor Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 32,443 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 2.1% during the third quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,300 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Standard Motor Products by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,446 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 81.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Standard Motor Products Company Profile

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.

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