Brokerages Set Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Price Target at $40.75

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.75.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CENTA. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,437,000 after purchasing an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,217,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,484,000 after buying an additional 115,706 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,174,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,034,000 after buying an additional 73,755 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,123,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,984,000 after buying an additional 738,860 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,924,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,729,000 after acquiring an additional 54,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

CENTA opened at $33.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.67. Central Garden & Pet has a 52-week low of $25.97 and a 52-week high of $37.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.43.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The business had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.