The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.33.
A number of research firms have recently commented on SMG. Barclays lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $150.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $185.00 to $150.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 14th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $123.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th.
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In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 2,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.36, for a total transaction of $261,294.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,233 shares in the company, valued at $2,293,612.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James D. King sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.42, for a total transaction of $1,722,350.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $960,579.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,805 shares of company stock worth $7,848,045. Corporate insiders own 27.31% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 84.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Tcwp LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 62.23% of the company’s stock.
Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $9.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 33,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 465,946. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $87.11 and a 12-month high of $206.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.16.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.69 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 42.22%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.64 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 26th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.08%.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile (Get Rating)
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. It provides lawn care products comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, other durable products, and outdoor cleaners, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; gardening and landscape products include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes and garden soils, mulch and decorative groundcover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and lives goods and seeding solutions.
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