Key Points
- Director David Evans sold 2,655 shares for about $176,345 at an average price of $66.42, reducing his position by 9.46% to 25,405 shares.
- Scotts Miracle-Gro beat quarterly EPS estimates by $0.05, reporting a loss of $2.16 per share, but revenue fell 10.9% year over year and came in below analysts’ forecasts.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, equivalent to a 4.1% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $74.80 average price target.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) Director David Evans sold 2,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.42, for a total value of $176,345.10. Following the sale, the director owned 25,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,687,400.10. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 2.0%
Shares of SMG opened at $63.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92 and a beta of 1.87. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $75.34.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($2.16) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.21) by $0.05. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 77.42%. The company had revenue of $302.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.63) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 157.14%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.80.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Scotts Miracle-Gro
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in the first 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,841 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $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 first quarter worth approximately $50,058,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 658,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,050,000 after acquiring an additional 92,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 544,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
(
Get Free Report)
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company develops, manufactures and markets branded products for lawn care and gardening. Its offerings include grass seed, lawn fertilizers and weed-control products, soils, plant foods and other products for growing and maintaining lawns, gardens and landscapes. Its consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro and Ortho. The company also has a Hawthorne business that supplies equipment and products for indoor and hydroponic gardening. Scotts Miracle-Gro's products are sold primarily in North America, with additional operations and sales in international markets.
Further Reading
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