Sciencast Management LP Makes New Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP acquired 14,127 shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, valued at approximately $775,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Institutional ownership of Scotts Miracle-Gro stands at 74.07%, with several firms, including Oppenheimer & Co. and Nuveen LLC, increasing their stakes in the company.
• The company reported earnings of $2.59 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, but showed a 1.2% revenue decline compared to the previous year.

Sciencast Management LP 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 14,127 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $775,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,819 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $226,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,475,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.17.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 1,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,130 shares in the company, valued at $621,171.60. The trade was a 21.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 56,633 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.02, for a total transaction of $3,569,011.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,217,641 shares in the company, valued at $832,975,735.82. This trade represents a 0.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

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

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.