Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Lowered to $61.00 at UBS Group

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at UBS Group from $62.00 to $61.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.84. 621,433 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 964,822. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.02 and a beta of 1.96. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $83.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.96) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.88) by ($0.08). Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company had revenue of $387.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.31) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.150-4.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.32 per share, for a total transaction of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total value of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,217,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,975,735.82. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,672 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,529,000 after buying an additional 1,000,311 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,268,000 after buying an additional 675,493 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after buying an additional 557,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 603,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,836,000 after acquiring an additional 464,570 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.