Scotts Miracle-Gro Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SMG)

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 6,617 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 466% compared to the average volume of 1,170 call options.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $53.17 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $52.84 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -110.76 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.05.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its 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 quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

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.