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

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $63.08 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 82.99 and a beta of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.36.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. This trade represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 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.