The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives $73.00 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $65.06 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.32 and its 200 day moving average is $65.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.43 and a beta of 1.77. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total value of $2,159,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,684,656.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.