Scotts Miracle-Gro Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SMG)

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 6,617 call options on the company. This is an increase of 466% compared to the average volume of 1,170 call options.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 3.7 %

SMG traded up $2.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $56.82. 529,069 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,771. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.36 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.29. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $53.37 and a 1 year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. Analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid 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 4.65%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -550.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on 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 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.33.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company’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 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 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $53,453,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,434,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 331,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,136,000 after acquiring an additional 286,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.