Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Sets New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $40.15 and last traded at $39.5650, with a volume of 17303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.55.

The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $882.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CENTA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,437,000 after purchasing an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% during the 2nd 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 boosted its position 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 buying an additional 738,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,317,000 after buying an additional 17,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 5.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,012,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,821,000 after buying an additional 47,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 4.8%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.55. 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 company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.59.

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.