Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Earns Market Perform Rating from Raymond James

Raymond James reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

SMG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $69.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $74.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.50, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.60 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.54. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $78.25.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $410.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 44.37% and a negative net margin of 11.52%. The business’s revenue was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.02) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -37.50%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492. 26.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 77,564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the period. FIL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $9,286,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,183,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $139,226,000 after buying an additional 25,863 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 18,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 68,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,380,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.