Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Raised to $90.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $65.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.75.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $90.14 on Wednesday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $91.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.45 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042. 26.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 67,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.