The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $75.40.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,137,641 shares in the company, valued at $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,342,000 after buying an additional 102,997 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.3%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $59.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.80. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $75.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.70 and a beta of 1.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 229.57%.

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.