Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $74.11 and last traded at $74.2640, with a volume of 130692 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $62.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 1.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.49%.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,397,000 after acquiring an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,443,000 after purchasing an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,368,000 after purchasing an additional 265,677 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,121,000 after buying an additional 51,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.