William Blair Issues Optimistic Forecast for SMG Earnings

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) - Research analysts at William Blair boosted their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, January 29th. William Blair analyst J. Andersen now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $4.00 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.75. The consensus estimate for Scotts Miracle-Gro's current full-year earnings is $3.38 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Scotts Miracle-Gro's Q3 2025 earnings at $2.30 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.55 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.00 EPS.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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 Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.54. The company had a trading volume of 367,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,051. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -144.88 and a beta of 1.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $124,203,000 after buying an additional 15,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,448,000 after buying an additional 14,730 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,563,000 after acquiring an additional 331,925 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $24,405,000 after acquiring an additional 278,146 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 204,528 shares of company stock worth $14,879,354 over the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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 paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.