The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from seven covering firms, with four holds and three buys. The average 12-month price target is $73.
• The stock was up 7.7% and opened at $73.25, near its 12-month high of $75.30. It has a market cap of $4.26 billion and trades above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected earnings, reporting $4.53 EPS versus $3.97 expected and revenue of $1.46 billion versus $1.41 billion estimated. It also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, equal to a 3.6% annual yield.

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 7.7%

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $73.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.81. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $75.30. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $62.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.54.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,443,000 after acquiring an additional 795,970 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,368,000 after acquiring an additional 265,677 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $66,121,000 after acquiring an additional 51,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.

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