The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with a price target averaging $69.17.
• Recent earnings showed the company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, but faced a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.2%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 with an annualized yield of 4.7%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 347.37%.

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.1667.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $56.15 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $59.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.88 and a beta of 1.96. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%.The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.500- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 347.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 1,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $61.32 per share, with a total value of $109,762.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $621,171.60. This trade represents a 21.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,721,784.72. This represents a 0.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,672 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,529,000 after buying an additional 1,000,311 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,268,000 after acquiring an additional 675,493 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,344,000 after acquiring an additional 557,647 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 333.3% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 603,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,836,000 after purchasing an additional 464,570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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