John Ranelli Sells 3,668 Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Stock

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $126,546.00. Following the sale, the director owned 646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,287. The trade was a 85.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENTA opened at $35.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.44. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 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 data 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 during 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENTA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 17,556 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 179.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 116,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,749 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENTA has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.75.

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.