Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $659,000 Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 9,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $61.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.38. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.16 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 528.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.83.

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.