Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

SMG has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.33. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $75.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.53 and a beta of 1.82.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 229.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,829.28. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 24.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.