Scotts Miracle-Gro stock gains after narrower-than-expected loss, sales fell less than forecast

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. rose 2.1% in premarket trading, after the lawn care and indoor and hydroponic growing products company reported a narrower-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and revenue that topped forecasts, as a big beat in its U.S. Consumer business offset a Hawthorne miss. For the quarter to Sept. 30, the company swung to a net loss of $47.8 million, or 86 cents a share, from income of $3.9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, the adjusted per-share loss of 82 cents beat the FactSet loss consensus of 87 cents. Sales declined 17.1% to $737.8 million but…