Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.700- for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.840. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock traded up $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.83. The stock had a trading volume of 60,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,125. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.63. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $28.77 and a 52 week high of $41.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 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 analyst estimates of $846.58 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $126,546.00. Following the sale, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter worth about $390,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 3,183 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 16.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 25.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

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.