Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for SMG

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note issued on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the basic materials company will earn $4.21 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $4.16. The consensus estimate for Scotts Miracle-Gro’s current full-year earnings is $3.42 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Scotts Miracle-Gro’s FY2027 earnings at $4.58 EPS.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.04) by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on SMG. UBS Group set a $67.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.1%

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $69.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.31. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $45.61 and a 1-year high of $70.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.58 and a beta of 1.98.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 129,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 43,571 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $286,000. Man Group plc grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 44,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 364,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearline Capital LP increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 520.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 108,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,328,000 after buying an additional 90,980 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the 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 represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 179.59%.

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.