Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $70.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock, down from their prior price target of $78.00.
Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SMG. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Scotts Miracle-Gro
Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.1 %
SMG traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.23. The company had a trading volume of 901,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 791,356. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.63. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $55.68 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -129.63 and a beta of 1.79.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.
Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro
In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 51,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 171,296 shares of company stock valued at $12,235,403. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,162,000. Algert Global LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 16,821 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,110,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 63.5% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 56,337 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 21,872 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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