Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Director Brendan Dougher Sells 3,250 Shares of Stock

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $37.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 3.42. Central Garden & Pet Company has a one year low of $28.77 and a one year high of $41.25.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. CJS Securities raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 67,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,175,000 after buying an additional 3,719 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 154.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 7,574 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 52,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 63,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 13,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. Hedge funds and other 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.