The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $70.20

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.20.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SMG. Weiss Ratings lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $59.28 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.28 and its 200 day moving average is $60.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.55 and a beta of 1.87. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,734. 24.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.9% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.9% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a provider of consumer lawn and garden products headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. The company develops and markets products designed to help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens, landscapes and indoor plants.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant food, gardening products, pest-control solutions, soils and related growing supplies. Key consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat. The company also has a history of serving the controlled-environment agriculture and hydroponics markets through specialized growing products and supplies.

Scotts Miracle-Gro was founded in 1868 and has built a broad distribution network serving retail customers, garden centers and other outlets.