The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $75.20 According to Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.20.

Several research firms have commented on SMG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $48.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.82. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $75.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 1.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at $667,484.55. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total transaction of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $51,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 661.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a consumer-focused lawn and garden products company headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. Founded in 1868, the company develops, manufactures and markets products that help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens and outdoor spaces.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant foods, gardening products, pest-control solutions and related outdoor-care items. Key consumer brands have included Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat, with products sold through home-improvement retailers, mass merchants, nurseries, garden centers and other distribution channels.

Scotts Miracle-Gro primarily serves customers in the United States and Canada.