The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives $75.40 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.40.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SMG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SMG opened at $56.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.77 and its 200 day moving average is $63.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 49.02 and a beta of 1.83. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 229.57%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,829.28. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,734 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.9% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,193 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,077 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. Founded in 1868 and headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company serves homeowners and gardening enthusiasts through products designed for growing, feeding, protecting and maintaining plants and lawns.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, gardening soils, plant foods, weed and pest controls, and related gardening products. Well-known brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Turf Builder, Ortho, Tomcat and Earthgro.