Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Price Target Lowered to $31.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $34.00 to $31.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on CENTA. Argus cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CENTA opened at $31.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.75. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $27.70 and a 52 week high of $41.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 3.77%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $328,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 67,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,205,267.46. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,979,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,606,000 after purchasing an additional 306,449 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,175,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,304,000 after purchasing an additional 68,689 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,373,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,381,000 after purchasing an additional 170,121 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 961,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,781,000 after purchasing an additional 14,144 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,515,000 after purchasing an additional 59,489 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish and small animals as well as outdoor cushions.