Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Cut to $77.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $90.00 to $77.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG traded down $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.25. 949,009 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 813,414. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $48.29 and a one year high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of -106.83 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($2.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.94) by ($0.37). Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a negative net margin of 0.98%. The firm had revenue of $414.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.95 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -382.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $227,000. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 27.9% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 5,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,321,000. Finally, Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.