Royce & Associates LP Acquires 13,851 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,363 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,851 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $2,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CENT. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENT stock opened at $38.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.62. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52 week low of $28.77 and a 52 week high of $41.53. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.60 and a 200-day moving average of $35.50.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Central Garden & Pet’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.