Teza Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Teza Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 60.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 22,707 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,807,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Investment House LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,059,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 2.4%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.40. 657,913 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 964,757. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -123.75 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.12 and a 200-day moving average of $64.14.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.69 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 528.00%.

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.