Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $59.60 and last traded at $59.92, with a volume of 71363 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SMG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -122.00 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -550.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,164 shares of company stock valued at $13,664,064 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,082,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,453,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,448,000 after purchasing an additional 14,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,689,000 after purchasing an additional 264,369 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.