The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives $74.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total value of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $874,331,362.40. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,032.80. The trade was a 4.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,342,000 after purchasing an additional 102,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $61.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.20. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.49%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.