Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Cut to $75.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.01% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $60.97. 84,779 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 804,876. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $77.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,684,656.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.