FY2026 EPS Forecast for Central Garden & Pet Cut by Analyst

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report released on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $2.70 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $2.84. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Central Garden & Pet’s current full-year earnings is $2.95 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Central Garden & Pet’s Q1 2027 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.26 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.80 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.22 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.28 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.89 EPS.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CENT. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

CENT stock opened at $38.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.62. Central Garden & Pet has a 1 year low of $28.77 and a 1 year high of $41.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 10,132 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 45.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,508 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 23.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 181,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 67,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 17.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 7,462 shares during the last quarter. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.