Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $51.78 and last traded at $52.29, with a volume of 25477 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SMG. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.78 and a beta of 1.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 229.57%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total transaction of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total transaction of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734 over the last ninety days. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased 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 valued at $66,121,000 after acquiring an additional 51,148 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,475,000 after acquiring an additional 72,179 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth about $50,058,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 807,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,092,000 after acquiring an additional 364,285 shares during 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 manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. Founded in 1868 and headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company serves homeowners and gardening enthusiasts through products designed for growing, feeding, protecting and maintaining plants and lawns.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, gardening soils, plant foods, weed and pest controls, and related gardening products. Well-known brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Turf Builder, Ortho, Tomcat and Earthgro.