Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $43.17 and last traded at $42.41, with a volume of 69518 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $42.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CENT. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.28.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 10,132 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,508 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 181,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,684,000 after acquiring an additional 67,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after acquiring an additional 7,462 shares in the last quarter. 16.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.