Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $61.91 and traded as high as $62.90. Scotts Miracle-Gro shares last traded at $62.22, with a volume of 1,462,273 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. UBS Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.6%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.10 and a beta of 1.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares in the company, valued at $886,133,885.45. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,484.55. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 394.1% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 661.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 81.7% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a provider of consumer lawn and garden products headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. The company develops and markets products designed to help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens, landscapes and indoor plants.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant food, gardening products, pest-control solutions, soils and related growing supplies. Key consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat. The company also has a history of serving the controlled-environment agriculture and hydroponics markets through specialized growing products and supplies.

Scotts Miracle-Gro was founded in 1868 and has built a broad distribution network serving retail customers, garden centers and other outlets.