The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

A number of research firms have commented on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 63.5% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 56,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 21,872 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,601,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $54.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.39. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $54.44 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned ($1.45) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

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.