Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research cut Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 2.7%

CENTA opened at $34.08 on Friday. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $25.97 and a one year high of $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.67.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The firm 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. Analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 17,556 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 179.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 116,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,625,000 after buying an additional 12,749 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.