Stifel Cuts Scotts Miracle-Gro Target to $75

Stifel Nicolaus lowered its price target for Scotts Miracle-Gro to $75 from $76 while maintaining a buy rating. Other analysts’ views were mixed, leaving the stock with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $75.20. The company’s latest reported quarter beat earnings expectations, with earnings of $2.82 per share versus analysts’ $2.48 estimate; revenue was $1.17 billion, up 1.1% year over year. Separately, Scotts shares fell 4.8% on September 28 and were down 19.8% over the prior month; GuruFocus estimated the stock was below its intrinsic-value measure but also noted weak financial-strength indicators and a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its five-year median.