The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.66 (NYSE:SMG)

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 22nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.66 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd.

Scotts Miracle-Gro has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a payout ratio of 66.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Scotts Miracle-Gro to earn $3.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.5%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $68.58 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.14. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $77.95. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 1.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The business had revenue of $410.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.02) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.00.

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.