Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $70.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Scotts Miracle-Gro traded as low as $53.19 and last traded at $53.33, with a volume of 223214 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

SMG has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,453,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,448,000 after buying an additional 14,730 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,689,000 after acquiring an additional 264,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,986,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 3.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -106.98 and a beta of 1.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -550.00%.

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.