AXQ Capital LP Takes $972,000 Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,355,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,856,000 after buying an additional 27,422 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 101.4% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 41,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 20,843 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $3,032,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 230,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,692,000 after acquiring an additional 73,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 target price 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 research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $56.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.84. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $52.00 and a 52-week high of $72.35.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.49%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.