Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 15.07% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on SMG. UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $62.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.57 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.28. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. The business had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.89) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.44 per share, for a total transaction of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,032.80. The trade was a 4.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total value of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,167,641 shares in the company, valued at $874,331,362.40. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 156.7% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.