Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $70.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Scotts Miracle-Gro traded as low as $53.19 and last traded at $53.33, with a volume of 223214 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $124,203,000 after buying an additional 15,869 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $53,453,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,448,000 after purchasing an additional 14,730 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,689,000 after purchasing an additional 264,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 6.7 %

The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -101.78 and a beta of 1.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $61.96 and its 200 day moving average is $71.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

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.