Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.11% from the stock’s previous close.

SMG has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.25.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.3 %

SMG stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.49. 214,555 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 805,300. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.61 and a beta of 1.76. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $48.29 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.80 and its 200-day moving average is $72.39.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($2.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.94) by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $414.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.95 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. Equities research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $965,232,321.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,421,000 after acquiring an additional 49,262 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,155,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,307,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,359,000 after purchasing an additional 542,406 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,048,000 after buying an additional 52,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,515,000 after buying an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.