Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus to Buy Rating

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $70.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $78.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target indicates a potential upside of 25.34% from the company’s previous close.

SMG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $55.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -116.35 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.88. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $55.68 and a one year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the business earned ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,616,399.68. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,664 shares of company stock valued at $13,625,494. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.