Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $58.62, but opened at $61.10. Scotts Miracle-Gro shares last traded at $64.30, with a volume of 595,421 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 2.4%

The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -138.75 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is 528.00%.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,672 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $53,453,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $39,434,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 334,934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,385,000 after acquiring an additional 296,448 shares during the period. 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.