AXQ Capital LP Makes New Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,651 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth approximately $1,355,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 101.4% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 41,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,856,000 after purchasing an additional 27,422 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,032,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 230,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,692,000 after purchasing an additional 73,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $56.47 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.65. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $72.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.84.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.