The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,173. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,421,000 after buying an additional 49,262 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,155,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,307,000 after acquiring an additional 42,500 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,359,000 after purchasing an additional 542,406 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,048,000 after purchasing an additional 52,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $67.43 on Tuesday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $82.11. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.81 and a beta of 1.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.28.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.