Brokerages Set The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Price Target at $70.00

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.00.

A number of research firms have commented on SMG. StockNews.com upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $231,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.0% in the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 61,497 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,587,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted 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 worth $768,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $641,000. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 7,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $66.78 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $77.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.49 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.66.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.02) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -37.50%.

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.