UBS Group Lowers Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target to $61.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at UBS Group from $62.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.12% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $56.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.24 and a beta of 1.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.45. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $83.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.88) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $387.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.75 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($2.31) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $3,569,011.66. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,975,735.82. This represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,645,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,979,000 after purchasing an additional 118,729 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,055,672 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,529,000 after buying an additional 1,000,311 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after acquiring an additional 557,647 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.