Analysts Set The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Price Target at $74.00

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.33.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $57.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -120.64 and a beta of 1.79. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $53.37 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.19.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. 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.