Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $42.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. Central Garden & Pet traded as high as $40.18 and last traded at $39.99, with a volume of 355319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.94.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CENTA. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, CFO Nicholas Lahanas sold 13,101 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.64, for a total transaction of $493,121.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 115,796 shares in the company, valued at $4,358,561.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Central Garden & Pet news, CAO Howard Machek sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $182,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 59,406 shares in the company, valued at $2,162,378.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nicholas Lahanas sold 13,101 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.64, for a total transaction of $493,121.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 115,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,358,561.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,822 shares of company stock worth $965,026. Insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,330,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,694,000 after purchasing an additional 29,072 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,740,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,711,000 after buying an additional 23,601 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,087,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,059,000 after buying an additional 480,805 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,090,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,245,000 after buying an additional 217,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 800,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,237,000 after buying an additional 87,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.86. The company has a current ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.15. The company had revenue of $634.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.11 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 4.06%. As a group, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides dog and cat supplies, such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management, and training pads; supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles, and pet birds, including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.