Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Raised to Buy at Truist Financial

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $70.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.78% from the company’s current price.

SMG has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock opened at $54.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -114.13 and a beta of 1.79. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a fifty-two week low of $53.37 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.57 and a 200-day moving average of $72.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.45) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.