The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (SMG) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 22nd

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.66 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, June 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd.

Scotts Miracle-Gro has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a payout ratio of 62.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Scotts Miracle-Gro to earn $4.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.7%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $56.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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.