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

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.75.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CENTA. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 209.2% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,888,000 after acquiring an additional 936,852 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 181.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 549,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,222,000 after purchasing an additional 354,016 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in 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 valued at $5,811,000 after purchasing an additional 180,503 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 10.6% during the second 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 period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 148,900 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $29.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.86. 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 0.75, a current ratio of 3.67 and a quick ratio of 2.33.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.11. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $678.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $657.86 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Equities analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share 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.