UBS Group Lowers Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target to $54.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 6.0 %

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $53.38 on Thursday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -111.21 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.79 and a 200-day moving average of $67.58.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.69 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.