The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total value of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $874,331,362.40. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,032.80. This represents a 4.72% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,311 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,268,000 after acquiring an additional 675,493 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 362.8% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 737,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,036,000 after acquiring an additional 578,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $32,595,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,344,000 after acquiring an additional 557,647 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG opened at $61.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.01. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $72.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50 and a beta of 1.88.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 147.49%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.