Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Shares Down 6.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) traded down 6.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $59.18 and last traded at $59.3850. 893,893 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 18% from the average session volume of 760,282 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.23.

Scotts Miracle-Gro News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Scotts Miracle-Gro this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat estimates on both EPS and revenue (EPS -$0.77 vs. street losses; revenue $354.4M slightly above estimates), a near-term fundamental beat that underpins the bullish case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced a plan to divest Hawthorne (cannabis-supply unit) to reduce exposure to the volatile cannabis market — removes an unpredictable business line and clarifies core consumer-garden focus. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a $0.66 quarterly dividend and unveiled a new multi-year share repurchase program to begin late 2026 — both are shareholder-friendly moves that support cash-return narratives. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: At least one sell-side analyst reiterated a Buy rating and highlighted valuation and strategic focus as positives, giving institutional investors a reason to hold or add. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted a conference call and posted a slide deck that provide guidance detail and strategy updates; investors will parse commentary for forward signals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Top-line weakness: revenue declined ~3.3% year-over-year and the company remains loss-making on the quarter, highlighting ongoing demand and margin pressure in its end markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and capital-efficiency concerns: net margin is low (~4.3%) and return on equity is negative (≈-67.7%), metrics investors watch for sustainable earnings recovery. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor selling pressure and position cuts by several large funds, plus recent insider sell activity, add to near-term downside risk and higher trading volume. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $61.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 4.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01 and a beta of 1.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.36.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.97) by $0.20. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 4.26% and a negative return on equity of 67.74%. The company had revenue of $354.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.89) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,311 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,268,000 after purchasing an additional 675,493 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after purchasing an additional 557,647 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 603,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,836,000 after purchasing an additional 464,570 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,260.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 489,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,269,000 after buying an additional 453,256 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.