The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.50.

Several analysts have commented on SMG shares. UBS Group set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $60.98 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $72.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.48 and a beta of 1.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.27. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The firm had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is 179.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $874,331,362.40. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer purchased 693 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.44 per share, with a total value of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,032.80. This represents a 4.72% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth $1,355,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $1,425,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 215.2% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 21,747 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake 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 worth $39,836,000 after purchasing an additional 464,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 92,168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,079,000 after purchasing an additional 70,008 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.