The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

SMG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Thursday, March 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.1% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 41,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,857,000 after acquiring an additional 4,843 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 3,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 394.1% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,130.7% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 7.7%

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $73.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.81. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $75.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.54.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 147.49%.

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.