Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $54.81 and last traded at $54.88, with a volume of 517192 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 4.5 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMG. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after acquiring an additional 15,869 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,453,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,448,000 after purchasing an additional 14,730 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,689,000 after buying an additional 264,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.