The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,368,000 after purchasing an additional 265,677 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,121,000 after purchasing an additional 51,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $61.29 on Thursday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $72.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 147.49%.

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.