Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.75.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CENTA. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. CJS Securities raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 209.2% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,888,000 after purchasing an additional 936,852 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 181.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 549,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,222,000 after buying an additional 354,016 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1,109.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 196,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 180,503 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter valued at $5,092,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,749,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after acquiring an additional 167,901 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA opened at $33.49 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 3.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.67. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $25.97 and a fifty-two week high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.