Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 154.9% in the first quarter, buying an additional 31,570 shares and bringing its total position to 51,956 shares worth about $3.16 million.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.53 versus the $3.97 consensus and revenue of $1.46 billion, with sales up 2.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed but slightly constructive on SMG: the stock carries a consensus Hold rating with a $73 price target, though several firms still rate it a Buy.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 154.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,570 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.09% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SMG. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 39,314 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. DMC Group LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.0% in the first quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,126 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.5% during the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 34,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.8% during the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 56,505 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.1%

SMG stock opened at $70.93 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 1.81. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $75.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.64.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.

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