Econ Financial Services Corp Acquires New Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE SMG opened at $69.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.84. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $72.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.65 and a 200-day moving average of $62.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.