Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stock Position in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,482 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,496 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.37% of Central Garden & Pet worth $6,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 11.2% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 173,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,420,000 after acquiring an additional 17,508 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 2nd quarter worth $1,431,000. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 209.2% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,888,000 after purchasing an additional 936,852 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 3.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 941,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,454,000 after purchasing an additional 30,763 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 10.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,749,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after buying an additional 167,901 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CENTA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $34.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.41. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.67. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at $428,766.10. This trade 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 at this link. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.