Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.36 EPS

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36, Briefing.com reports. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $70.54 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $43.67 and a 1-year high of $77.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.31%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SMG shares. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.57.

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.