: Scotts Miracle-Gro stock rises on Truist upgrade to buy

Scotts Miracle-Gro SMG stock was up by nearly 7% on Tuesday after Truist analyst Bill Chappell upgraded the lawn-products maker to buy from hold and raised his price target to $80 a share from $65. However, Chappell reduced his fiscal 2023 earnings estimate for Scotts Miracle-Gro to $2.45 a share from $2.50 a share and reduced his 2024 earnings view to $2.80 a share from $3.30 a share. Chappell said Scotts Miracle-Gro will benefit from the ending of the post pandemic reversion of the U.S. consumer. He also said he expects the company’s stock may now return to its historical counter-seasonal trading pattern when it outperformed the S&P 500 SPX between July and December for 14 out of 18 years between 2000 and 2017, when it initially invested in the cannabis hydroponic equipment space. Chappell also said the company “is out of the woods from a debt covenant standpoint, reducing the near term downside risk to the stock.”

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