Versor Investments LP Invests $1.36 Million in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 156.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 835.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $66.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.33 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $70.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.14.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.89) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 179.59%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.