Analysts Set Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) PT at $40.75

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

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CENTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. CJS Securities raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENTA opened at $32.16 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.58. Central Garden & Pet has a 1-year low of $25.97 and a 1-year high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 646 shares in the company, valued at $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENTA. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 42,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 9,271 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 577.9% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 41,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,286,000 after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 156,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,573,000 after buying an additional 33,892 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.