Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by 45%, holding 14,401 shares worth about $790,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company reported earnings of $2.59 per share in its latest quarter, surpassing estimates, but experienced a 1.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting a 4.4% yield, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 45.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,401 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,466 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 90.0% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 632,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,873. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 1.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.60. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 347.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.17.

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.