Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Increased to $85.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.33% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.3 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.00. 736,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,610. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.35. The firm has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 1.70. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $78.25.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.02) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492 over the last 90 days. 26.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,330,654 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $161,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283,911 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth approximately $28,336,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,543,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $98,370,000 after acquiring an additional 531,160 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,699,000. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth approximately $29,141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.