Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Insider John Walker III Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) insider John Walker III sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was 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 $2,490,141.50. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CENT opened at $44.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.61. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52-week low of $28.77 and a 52-week high of $46.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.33 and a 200-day moving average of $39.42.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 5.39%.The firm had revenue of $883.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 119.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1,532.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) is a leading North American specialty retailer, manufacturer and distributor serving the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. In the Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet offers a comprehensive range of products including pet food, treats, accessories, training products and habitat solutions for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. The Garden segment encompasses a wide array of lawn, garden and outdoor living products, such as soils, fertilizers, planters, pest control solutions, landscape lighting and watering equipment.

Central Garden & Pet’s product portfolio includes both proprietary and branded offerings.