Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Stock Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA)’s share price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.03 and traded as low as $29.24. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $29.68, with a volume of 162,378 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 0.8%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.42 and a 200 day moving average of $31.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $678.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.86 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 11.17%. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 173,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,420,000 after buying an additional 17,508 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 8.2% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 831,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,016,000 after purchasing an additional 63,008 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,431,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,749,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after buying an additional 167,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 941,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,454,000 after buying an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by 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.