Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

CENTA has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.67.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $39.00 on Tuesday. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $25.97 and a 52 week high of $39.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,437,000 after buying an additional 20,819 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,174,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,034,000 after buying an additional 73,755 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 53.4% in 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,924,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,729,000 after acquiring an additional 54,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,317,000 after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.