Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

SMG has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.29. The company had a trading volume of 692,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,601. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.58 and a beta of 2.01. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 56.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,737 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 621.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth about $154,000. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth about $670,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. 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.