The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $83.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.36 and a beta of 1.76. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $88.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.78.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 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 transaction of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, 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 transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042 over the last three months. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Thrive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth approximately $929,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,249,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 42,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is 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.