Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $37.35 and traded as high as $43.41. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $42.79, with a volume of 88,455 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CENT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 119.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 10,132 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 45.0% in the 1st 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 lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 23.7% in the 1st 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

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.