Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $40.88 and traded as high as $41.53. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $41.32, with a volume of 107,782 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $883.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.13%. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $192,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,490,141.50. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 17.0% in the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.9% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 24,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter valued at about $208,000. 16.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) is a marketer and manufacturer of products for the pet and garden markets. The company sells its products through retailers, distributors, e-commerce channels and other outlets, serving consumers primarily in the United States.

Its Pet segment offers products for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals. Product categories include treats, toys, bedding, habitats, aquatics supplies, animal health products and training or waste-management products.