Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $70.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $78.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 12.82% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 3.4 %

SMG opened at $62.04 on Tuesday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $55.68 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -129.26 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.71.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 171,296 shares of company stock worth $12,235,403 over the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $659,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $273,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,388,000 after purchasing an additional 24,105 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $4,128,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.