Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $39.03 and last traded at $39.2250, with a volume of 21243 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENTA has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,437,000 after acquiring an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,217,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,484,000 after purchasing an additional 115,706 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,174,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,034,000 after purchasing an additional 73,755 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,123,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,984,000 after purchasing an additional 738,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,924,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,729,000 after buying an additional 54,930 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.