The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.40.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 3.1%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $59.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.37 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.28. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is 229.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,829.28. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734 over the last three months. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestrel Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at $2,390,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 223.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 20,196 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 658,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,050,000 after purchasing an additional 92,614 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 387,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,591,000 after purchasing an additional 34,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 154.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 51,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 31,570 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.