Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $476,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd has made a new investment of approximately $476,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company by acquiring 8,681 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including American Century Companies Inc. and Norges Bank, have significantly increased their stakes in Scotts Miracle-Gro, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Scotts Miracle-Gro stock, with a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83, reflecting variability in investor sentiment.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,681 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 733.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 883 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $61.53. The stock had a trading volume of 405,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,086,130. The business's fifty day moving average is $64.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.88. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.03 and a beta of 2.01. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $45.61 and a twelve month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 56.15% and a net margin of 1.04%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio 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.