Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 4.7%

SMG stock traded up $2.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.37. 575,328 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 914,992. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81 and a beta of 1.94. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. The company had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.44 per share, for a total transaction of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $874,331,362.40. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,368,000 after purchasing an additional 265,677 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,036,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,462,000 after purchasing an additional 314,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 898,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,171,000 after purchasing an additional 187,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.