Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires 17,100 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 8.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 228,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,100 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $7,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aristides Capital LLC increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 8.0% during the third quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 50,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CENTA shares. Zacks Research upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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 dropped their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $37.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.12 and its 200 day moving average is $33.50. Central Garden & Pet Company has a fifty-two week low of $25.97 and a fifty-two week high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.