Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 154.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,570 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SMG. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $70.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.64. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.