Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $70.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Scotts Miracle-Gro traded as low as $53.19 and last traded at $53.33, with a volume of 223214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

SMG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 429.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.0% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 14,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 9,879 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -110.58 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.97%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -550.00%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.