Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.00.

CENTA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CENTA. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 209.2% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,888,000 after acquiring an additional 936,852 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at $13,749,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 181.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 549,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,222,000 after acquiring an additional 354,016 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 168.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 292,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,529,000 after acquiring an additional 183,363 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1,109.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 196,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 180,503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $34.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.31 and its 200 day moving average is $31.60. 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 has a 52-week low of $25.97 and a 52-week high of $37.71.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The company 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.