Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $65.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Scotts Miracle-Gro traded as low as $45.61 and last traded at $50.59, with a volume of 5707854 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.54.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.1 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.67 and a 200-day moving average of $67.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.52 and a beta of 1.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -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.