Brokerages Set The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Price Target at $72.67

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.6667.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.9% during 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 lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,077 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE SMG opened at $69.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.57. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.49%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.