Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.6667.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CENTA. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of CENTA opened at $37.21 on Tuesday. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $25.97 and a 12 month high of $40.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.59.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $882.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 5.39%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 5,000 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $192,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64,679 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,141.50. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.4% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 22.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 8.0% in the third quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently 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.