Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.6667.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CENTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of CENTA opened at $40.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $25.97 and a 52 week high of $40.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.60 and a 200-day moving average of $34.63.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.03. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 5.39%.The business had revenue of $882.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 17,556 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 179.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 116,101 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,625,000 after buying an additional 12,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.