Short Interest in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Drops By 21.2%

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, a decrease of 21.2% from the December 15th total of 4,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 743,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 8.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.29. 487,342 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,904. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.87 and a beta of 1.73.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -382.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,553,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,028,866,984.34. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMG. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

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.