The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.8333.

Several analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $874,331,362.40. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.6% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% during the third quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 9,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 6.1%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $61.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.80 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.24. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.68% and a negative return on equity of 68.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 179.59%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.