William Blair Issues Pessimistic Estimate for SMG Earnings

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair dropped their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 30th. William Blair analyst J. Andersen now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of ($1.88) for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of ($1.75). The consensus estimate for Scotts Miracle-Gro's current full-year earnings is $3.42 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Scotts Miracle-Gro's FY2026 earnings at $4.02 EPS.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.18 on Monday, reaching $55.18. 139,844 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,163,690. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.38. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.96 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMG. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.