Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Scotts Miracle-Gro shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $51.78 and remaining well below their 50- and 200-day moving averages of roughly $62.60.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $75.40, despite mixed individual ratings ranging from Buy to Hold.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $2.82 in EPS versus a $2.48 estimate and reported $1.17 billion in revenue; it also pays a $0.66 quarterly dividend, yielding about 5.1%.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $51.78 and last traded at $52.29, with a volume of 25477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.12 and a beta of 1.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is 229.57%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total transaction of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,137,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,133,885.45. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,061,829.28. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter valued at about $50,058,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 362.8% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 737,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,036,000 after buying an additional 578,174 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,595,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 807,061 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,092,000 after buying an additional 364,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. Founded in 1868 and headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company serves homeowners and gardening enthusiasts through products designed for growing, feeding, protecting and maintaining plants and lawns.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, gardening soils, plant foods, weed and pest controls, and related gardening products. Well-known brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Turf Builder, Ortho, Tomcat and Earthgro.

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