The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street rates Scotts Miracle-Gro a “Moderate Buy”: Four of six analysts recommend buying the stock, while two advise holding it. The average 12-month price target is $70.20, above its reported price of $59.28.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.82 in EPS versus a $2.48 consensus, while revenue reached $1.17 billion, up 1.1% year over year.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro pays a quarterly dividend of $0.66, equivalent to a 4.5% yield, though its 229.57% payout ratio exceeds reported earnings. Insiders sold approximately $2.15 million of shares during the quarter.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.20.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on 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. Finally, UBS Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.2%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $59.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.74. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $75.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.55 and a beta of 1.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total transaction of $2,023,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,137,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter valued at $2,390,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,163,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 182.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 66,698 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,057,000 after purchasing an additional 43,066 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,323,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 95,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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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