Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of SMG opened at $65.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.38. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $102.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.85 and a beta of 1.63.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 16.57% and a positive return on equity of 81.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $1,675,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 179,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,053,233. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $1,675,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,053,233. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Denise Stump sold 2,503 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total transaction of $216,534.53. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,449,586.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,170,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,946.9% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 2,424 shares in the last quarter. 68.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

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Scotts Miracle-Gro Co engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of products for lawn and garden care and indoor and hydroponic gardening. Its products and services include lawn care, gardening and landscape, hydroponic hardware and growing environments, lighting, controls, and marketing agreement.