Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its target price raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $71.00 to $74.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $56.42 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 74.24 and a beta of 1.98. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $83.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.75 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($2.31) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 219,313.5% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 162,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,710,000 after purchasing an additional 162,292 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 519.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 58,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 48,643 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth about $901,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,475,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.