Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for CENTA Earnings

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $1.08 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.06. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Central Garden & Pet’s current full-year earnings is $2.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Central Garden & Pet’s Q3 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.84 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $0.18 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.10 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.62 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.20 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.95 EPS.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CENTA. 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. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. CJS Securities raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $35.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $25.97 and a 12 month high of $37.35.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Central Garden & Pet

Here are the key news stories impacting Central Garden & Pet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several near‑term and multi‑year EPS estimates for CENTA (including Q1/Q2/Q3 2026, Q1–Q3 2027 and FY2026/FY2028), lifting FY2026 to ~2.84 and FY2028 to ~2.95 — these upward revisions improve the company’s earnings trajectory versus prior forecasts and are a likely catalyst for the stock’s gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Central Garden & Pet will participate in investor conferences (J.P. Morgan High Yield & Leveraged Finance Conference on March 3); CFO Brad Smith will appear on a fireside chat and management will take one‑on‑one meetings — increased analyst/investor access can boost sentiment and reduce information uncertainty. Central Garden & Pet to Participate in Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting for February shows anomalous/zero values (a flagged large increase but with 0 shares reported and NaN changes), which appears to be a data glitch — no clear directional pressure from short activity based on the published figures.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.