Wall Street Zen Upgrades Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) to Buy

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

SMG has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $61.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.20. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $52.00 and a 52-week high of $72.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 1.88.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,167,641 shares in the company, 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 through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.44 per share, for a total transaction of $49,507.92. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 15,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,032.80. This trade represents a 4.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 24.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in 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.