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

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.850- for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.950. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CENT. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 5.6%

NASDAQ CENT opened at $46.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 0.61. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $28.77 and a 52 week high of $46.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.08. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 5.39%.The company had revenue of $883.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.96 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Central Garden & Pet’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter worth $94,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

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.