NorthRock Partners LLC Makes New $1.92 Million Investment in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)

NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 58,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,922,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,979,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,606,000 after acquiring an additional 306,449 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,373,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,381,000 after acquiring an additional 170,121 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $27,515,000 after acquiring an additional 59,489 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 805,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,624,000 after acquiring an additional 17,530 shares during the period. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 89.8% during the 4th quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 685,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,667,000 after acquiring an additional 324,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CENTA. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 3.8%

CENTA opened at $30.87 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.47 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $27.70 and a one year high of $41.03.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $833.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.36 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. Equities research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.