Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.35 and last traded at $71.80, with a volume of 129833 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $69.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $67.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.3%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 48.18 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.68% and a negative return on equity of 68.59%. The company had revenue of $354.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.89) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 179.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 254,087 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,826,000 after acquiring an additional 51,738 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 129,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,505,000 after purchasing an additional 43,571 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $286,000. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 44,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the period. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 82.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.