The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.66 (NYSE:SMG)

Key Points

• The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with a yield of 3.89% and an annualized dividend of $2.64.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings of $3.98 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but also saw a 6.8% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $71.83, indicating potential upside from current levels.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 29th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.66 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro has a payout ratio of 62.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Scotts Miracle-Gro to earn $4.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.3%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,237,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,507. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.71 and a beta of 2.01.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 18.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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.

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