American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 167,901 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,749,801 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 167,901 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 2.67% of Central Garden & Pet worth $54,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 64.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 6,054 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 3.4% in the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 65,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 32.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 23,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 21.1% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,164,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,110,000 after purchasing an additional 202,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 5.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 879,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,795,000 after purchasing an additional 47,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $30.98 on Friday. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1 year low of $25.97 and a 1 year high of $37.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.65 and its 200-day moving average is $31.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.63.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CENTA. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.50.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on 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, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.