The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on SMG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $69.43 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $77.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.09.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 44.37% and a negative net margin of 11.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.02) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -37.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMG. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 151.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 194,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,576,000 after purchasing an additional 117,314 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 126.7% in the third quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 63,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,278,000 after buying an additional 35,456 shares during the last quarter. FCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.8% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 78,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,056,000 after acquiring an additional 12,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 590,658 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,525,000 after acquiring an additional 36,056 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.