Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.86 and traded as high as $37.35. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $36.12, with a volume of 156,307 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CENT has been the subject of several analyst reports. CJS Securities upgraded 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 target on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.86. 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 (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The business 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%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $126,546.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at $22,287. This trade represents a 85.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,100,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,942,000 after acquiring an additional 32,716 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 808,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,178 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 385,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 259,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,500,000 after purchasing an additional 72,977 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 9.4% during the 2nd 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. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Company 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.