Scotts Miracle-Gro Shares Up 11% In 6 Months: Here's Why

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have gained 10.9% in the past six months. The stock has also outperformed the industry’s decline of 5.7% over the same time frame.

The company has a market cap of around $5.6 billion. Average volume of shares traded in the past three months was around 432.7K. The company also has long term expected earnings per share (EPS) growth rate of 9.7%.

Factors Driving the Upside

Upbeat fiscal 2020 outlook and bright prospects of the Hawthorne unit have been contributing to the gain in the company’s shares.

In November, Scotts Miracle-Gro announced that it expects company-wide sales growth of 4-6% for fiscal 2020. Moreover, the company anticipates Hawthorne’s sales to grow 12-15% and U.S. Consumer sales to rise 1-3%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro also expects adjusted EPS in the range of $4.95-$5.15 for fiscal 2020, which indicates a rise from $4.47 recorded in fiscal 2019.

The company is likely to gain from the synergies of the Sunlight Supply acquisition. The buyout provides the company with modern and cost-efficient supply chain in the hydroponic industry. Moreover, net sales in the Hawthorne segment surged 95% in fiscal 2019, partly driven by the impact of Sunlight Supply buyout. The acquisition is expected to continue to drive Hawthorne’s sales in fiscal 2020.

Further, earnings estimate revisions have the greatest impact on stock prices. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Scotts Miracle-Gro’s earnings has moved north in the past month. Over this period, earnings estimates for fiscal 2020 have moved up 2.2%.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Scotts Miracle-Gro currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd (TSX:KL) , Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd (OTC:IMPUY) and Polymetal International plc (OTC:AUCOY) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kirkland Lake Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 97.1% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 92.6% in the past year.

Impala Platinum Holdings has projected earnings growth rate of 255.2% for 2019. The company’s shares have rallied 226.4% in a year.

Polymetal International has an estimated earnings growth rate of 40.5% for the current year. Its shares have appreciated 52.6% in the past year.

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