Scotts Miracle-Gro’s (SMG) “Market Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $73.61 on Monday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $78.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.50, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by $0.17. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The firm had revenue of $410.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.02) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -37.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 146.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,025.0% during the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.