Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from UBS Group

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 19.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $1.72 on Thursday, reaching $64.66. The company had a trading volume of 999,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,451. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.49 and a beta of 1.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $55.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.95. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.21) by $0.05. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%. The company had revenue of $302.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.63) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,021.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 394.1% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 661.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 81.7% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a provider of consumer lawn and garden products headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. The company develops and markets products designed to help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens, landscapes and indoor plants.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant food, gardening products, pest-control solutions, soils and related growing supplies. Key consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat. The company also has a history of serving the controlled-environment agriculture and hydroponics markets through specialized growing products and supplies.

Scotts Miracle-Gro was founded in 1868 and has built a broad distribution network serving retail customers, garden centers and other outlets.