Truist Financial Downgrades Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) to Hold

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Truist Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $75.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock, up from their previous target price of $65.00.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.00. 736,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,610. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $64.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 1.70. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $78.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 21,656 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,663,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 9,487 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,314 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.