The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $61.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.97 and a beta of 1.79. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $55.68 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.53.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.45) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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 $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. 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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.