Short Interest in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Increases By 21.0%

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,980,000 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the February 28th total of 3,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 902,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 9.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,187,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 996,312. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $49.39 and a one year high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.41 and a beta of 1.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $62.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.92.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.03%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,601,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,563,000 after acquiring an additional 331,925 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

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.