The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.83.

SMG has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,616,399.68. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 204,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,879,354. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 425,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,329. The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day moving average is $74.82. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of -138.65 and a beta of 1.74. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $54.74 and a 52-week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is -549.99%.

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.