Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported ($1.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.36) by $0.34, Briefing.com reports. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a positive return on equity of 38.78% and a negative net margin of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $526.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $502.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.88) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG traded up $1.92 during trading on Thursday, hitting $82.44. The stock had a trading volume of 81,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,213. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.47. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 1.68. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $145.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.13, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.25%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 144.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $205,000. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,314 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 68.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SMG. StockNews.com began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a "sell" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $45.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.29.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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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.

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