Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 5,510 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Aristeia Capital L.L.C. has invested approximately $302,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by acquiring 5,510 shares, as reported in their recent Form 13F filing.
• Institutional ownership for Scotts Miracle-Gro is robust, with 74.07% of the stock held by hedge funds and other investors, indicating strong confidence in the company.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with one strong buy, four buys, and two holds, while the average price target stands at $71.17.

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,510 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter valued at $469,000. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter valued at $775,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at about $660,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at about $316,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 27,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer bought 1,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.78. 355,529 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,032,219. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 79.97 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $64.07 and its 200-day moving average is $60.35. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 347.37%.

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.