Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Boosts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 433,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,450 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $26,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $69.42 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.96. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.78 and a beta of 1.81. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.