Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $54.81 and last traded at $54.88, with a volume of 517192 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. UBS Group cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 4.5 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -550.00%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 344.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 80,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,918,000 after acquiring an additional 175,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,162,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by 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.