Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

SMG has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE SMG traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.13. 622,901 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 856,776. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $49.00 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -108.47 and a beta of 1.96. The business's fifty day moving average price is $62.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.92.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) 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 last year, the business posted ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares in the company, valued at $898,073,615.86. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, 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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,453,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $39,434,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,136,000 after purchasing an additional 286,962 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.