Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Takes $302,000 Position in 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. bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,510 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.5%

SMG traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 355,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 687,066. The business's 50-day moving average price is $63.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.36. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.97 and a beta of 1.98.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This represents a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.