Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $74.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 31.00% from the company’s previous close.

SMG has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $56.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.33 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $83.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.88) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $387.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.75 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.54% and a negative return on equity of 60.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($2.31) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $3,569,011.66. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,975,735.82. The trade was a 0.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 156.7% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. 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.