14,663 Shares in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT Bought by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 14,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 119.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1,532.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENT opened at $43.80 on Friday. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52 week low of $28.77 and a 52 week high of $46.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.61.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company had revenue of $883.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, insider John D. Walker III sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $192,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 64,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,141.50. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) is a leading North American specialty retailer, manufacturer and distributor serving the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. In the Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet offers a comprehensive range of products including pet food, treats, accessories, training products and habitat solutions for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. The Garden segment encompasses a wide array of lawn, garden and outdoor living products, such as soils, fertilizers, planters, pest control solutions, landscape lighting and watering equipment.

Central Garden & Pet’s product portfolio includes both proprietary and branded offerings.