Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $70.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Scotts Miracle-Gro traded as low as $53.19 and last traded at $53.33, with a volume of 223214 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,008,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $659,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 126,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,388,000 after acquiring an additional 24,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,128,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 8.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.58 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.19.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -550.00%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.