Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.57 and last traded at $41.4780, with a volume of 30920 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CENT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.07 and a 200-day moving average of $36.01.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.Central Garden & Pet’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENT. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,347,000. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 120.9% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 156,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after acquiring an additional 85,706 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 259,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,500,000 after acquiring an additional 72,977 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 181,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,684,000 after acquiring an additional 67,800 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 37.7% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 149,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,247,000 after acquiring an additional 40,803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.