JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.29% from the company’s previous close.

SMG has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $54.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.52 and a beta of 1.96. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The business’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.69 EPS. Analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMG. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,059,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.