Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target to $83.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price target dropped by Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.66% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on SMG. StockNews.com raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.57.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $1.87 on Thursday, hitting $70.54. 937,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,000. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $77.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 590,658 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,525,000 after acquiring an additional 36,056 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 96,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,998,000 after purchasing an additional 21,834 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 42.1% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 15,630 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.3% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 51,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,660,000 after buying an additional 2,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. 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.