Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.08, but opened at $30.07. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $30.1490, with a volume of 6,414 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.77.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.11. The business had revenue of $678.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.86 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 5.20%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 209.2% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,888,000 after buying an additional 936,852 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 181.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 549,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,222,000 after acquiring an additional 354,016 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1,109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 196,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after purchasing an additional 180,503 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,749,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 167,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 237.5% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,249,000 after purchasing an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

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.