Wall Street Zen Downgrades Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) to Hold

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Four equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of SMG opened at $57.58 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16 and a beta of 1.84. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $52.00 and a 52-week high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,342,000 after purchasing an additional 102,997 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.