UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro to $77 from $70 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying 16.08% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed: five analysts rate the stock Buy and two Hold, for a consensus Moderate Buy and average target of $74.80; JPMorgan lowered its target to $67 and kept a Neutral rating.
• In its latest quarter, Scotts reported a loss of $2.16 per share, slightly better than expected, but revenue of $302.9 million missed forecasts and fell 10.9% year over year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.08% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.86 on Thursday, reaching $66.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,905,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,308. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.68 and a beta of 1.87. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $75.34. The business's 50-day moving average price is $55.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.93.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.21) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $302.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.11 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($2.63) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at $50,058,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,443,000 after acquiring an additional 795,970 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 401.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 153,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,345,000 after acquiring an additional 123,041 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,163,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 500.3% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 114,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,814,000 after acquiring an additional 95,616 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Scotts Miracle-Gro

Here are the key news stories impacting Scotts Miracle-Gro this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management forecast fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of $4.70–$4.90 and sales growth of 2%–4%, citing contributions from Black Kow and targeted pricing. The company also said fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS exceeded guidance and gross margins expanded. Fiscal 2027 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Fourth-quarter loss of $2.16 per share was narrower than analysts expected, and management said it strengthened the balance sheet during fiscal 2026. Fiscal 2026 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotts declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, payable December 4 to shareholders of record November 20.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $67 from $70 and maintained a neutral rating, implying limited upside from the cited share price. JPMorgan ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was $302.9 million, below expectations and down 10.9% year over year. The earnings beat was modest and the company still reported a quarterly loss. Fiscal Q4 results

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a provider of consumer lawn and garden products headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. The company develops and markets products designed to help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens, landscapes and indoor plants.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant food, gardening products, pest-control solutions, soils and related growing supplies. Key consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat. The company also has a history of serving the controlled-environment agriculture and hydroponics markets through specialized growing products and supplies.

Scotts Miracle-Gro was founded in 1868 and has built a broad distribution network serving retail customers, garden centers and other outlets.

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