Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.700- for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.770. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CENT. CJS Securities raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENT traded up $0.63 on Wednesday, reaching $35.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 83,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,180. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.77. Central Garden & Pet has a 52-week low of $28.77 and a 52-week high of $41.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 3.67. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.73.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.09. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 259,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,500,000 after acquiring an additional 72,977 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 6.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter worth about $7,347,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 25,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. 16.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.