Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Upgraded to “Buy” at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $70.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 5.7 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $57.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.30 and a 200-day moving average of $72.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -120.64 and a beta of 1.79. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $53.37 and a 52 week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 4.56%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last three months. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.