Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $76.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 54.66% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on SMG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.20.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of SMG opened at $48.49 on Tuesday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $75.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.59 and its 200-day moving average is $62.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 42.17 and a beta of 1.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares in the company, valued at $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $80,002.72. Following the sale, the director owned 30,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,829.28. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,734. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter worth approximately $50,058,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 362.8% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 737,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,036,000 after buying an additional 578,174 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,595,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 807,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,092,000 after buying an additional 364,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. Founded in 1868 and headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company serves homeowners and gardening enthusiasts through products designed for growing, feeding, protecting and maintaining plants and lawns.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, gardening soils, plant foods, weed and pest controls, and related gardening products. Well-known brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Turf Builder, Ortho, Tomcat and Earthgro.