Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (NYSE:SMG) Upgraded at Zacks Investment Research

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (NYSE:SMG) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

According to Zacks, “The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well. The Company’s brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company’s Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Smith & Hawken brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In the U.S. the Company operates Scotts LawnService0, the second largest residential lawn care service business. In Europe, the Company’s brands include Weedol, Pathclear, Evergreen, Levington, Miracle-Gro, KB, Fertiligene and Substral. Its customers include home improvement centers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, hardware chains, independent hardware stores, nurseries, food and drug stores, commercial nurseries and greenhouses, and specialty crop growers. “

Separately, BidaskClub raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $101.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (SMG) opened at 96.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.45 and a 200-day moving average of $91.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16 and a beta of 0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $74.54 and a 52 week high of $99.91.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 36.28%. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The)’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post $4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, CFO Thomas Randal Coleman sold 4,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.84, for a total transaction of $383,167.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,725,107.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael C. Lukemire sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.31, for a total transaction of $893,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,489,524.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,038 shares of company stock valued at $4,587,090. 28.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FNY Managed Accounts LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) during the first quarter valued at $103,000. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) during the first quarter valued at $121,000. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) by 2.4% in the first quarter. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) by 4.3% in the first quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acrospire Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) during the first quarter valued at $149,000. 68.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) Company Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (Scotts Miracle-Gro) is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. The Company’s segments include Global Consumer. In North America, its brands include Scotts and Turf Builder lawn and grass seed products; Miracle-Gro, Nature’s Care, Scotts, LiquaFeed and Osmocote gardening and landscape products; and Ortho, Roundup, Home Defense and Tomcat branded insect control, weed control and rodent control products.