AlphaQuest LLC Lowers Stock Position in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) by 65.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,564 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 259,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,500,000 after buying an additional 72,977 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 9.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 258,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,107,000 after purchasing an additional 22,187 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth about $7,347,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 149,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,247,000 after purchasing an additional 40,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 84,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares during the last quarter. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. CJS Securities raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENT opened at $37.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.65. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1-year low of $28.77 and a 1-year high of $41.25.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet 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.