The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Short Interest Down 21.2% in December

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a drop of 21.2% from the December 15th total of 4,440,000 shares. Currently, 8.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 743,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $2.29 on Wednesday, hitting $70.62. 597,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,495. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of -102.35 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -382.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,553,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SMG. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.67.

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.