Scotts Miracle-Gro's (NYSE: SMG) board of directors has elected to keep the company's dividend steady. The gardening supply veteran announced Monday that its upcoming quarterly payout will be $0.58 per share, matching the previous three distributions.
Prior to that, Scotts Miracle-Gro paid $0.55 per share.
The next dividend will be handed out on June 10 to shareholders of record as of May 27. That $0.58 per share yields 1.8% annually on the company's last closing stock price.
Image source: Scotts Miracle-Gro.
Although its roots go back to the 19th century, in the modern era, Scotts Miracle-Gro only started paying dividends in 2005. Since then, however, it has dispensed them every quarter. Starting in 2010, the company has raised its payout once every year.
In recent years, Scotts Miracle-Gro has attracted more intense interest from investors because of its Hawthorne subsidiary, which it established in 2014. This unit specializes in hydroponic gardening equipment, which is commonly used to grow marijuana.
Hawthorne is why the company is now often lumped in with cannabis stocks. Many marijuana stock investors are bullish on Scotts Miracle-Gro, since -- in contrast to almost every publicly traded cannabis company -- it frequently turns a profit, and it pays a dividend that is regular and reliable.
Monday was a successful trading day for Scotts Miracle-Gro. Its shares rose by just over 3%, exceeding the gains of the major equities indexes.
