Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Truist Financial's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.61% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,685,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,764. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -138.75 and a beta of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.29. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.69 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,807,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,415 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Investment House LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.3% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 8,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

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.