The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, a decline of 23.4% from the March 15th total of 3,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 7.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock traded down $0.86 on Monday, reaching $51.31. 671,488 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,040,540. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -106.89 and a beta of 1.96. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $46.45 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.37.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.42 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SMG. Truist Financial raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 74,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.0% during the first quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 17,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.