Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:SMG opened at $69.20 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.33 and a 200 day moving average of $61.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.39 and a beta of 2.01. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 56.15%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 103.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $854,000. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,737 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 621.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $154,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.