Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target to $85.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $85.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.16% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock opened at $78.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of -12.59 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.16 and its 200-day moving average is $65.64. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $82.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total value of $2,159,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,684,656.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.