Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Shares Sold by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC cut its position in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 39.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,926 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CENTA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 92,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 64.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,054 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,076 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.58, for a total transaction of $100,216.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,491.66. This trade represents a 68.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total value of $114,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 67,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,219.52. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENTA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.67.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $28.33 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 12 month low of $25.97 and a 12 month high of $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.74.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.22. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 4.44%.The firm had revenue of $960.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $993.66 million. As a group, analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS 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.