Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Rating Increased to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $70.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $78.00.

SMG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $62.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.47 and a beta of 1.79. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $55.68 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.71.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 171,296 shares of company stock valued at $12,235,403. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $44,000. 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.