Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “hold” rating, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $54.00 price target.
• The company slightly beat quarterly expectations with $1.54 EPS and $883.72 million in revenue, although revenue declined 8.2% year over year; analysts expect $2.98 EPS for the current year.
• Central Garden & Pet shares opened at $42.04, with a $2.63 billion market capitalization and a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69. An insider sold 5,000 shares, while institutional investors own 16.13% of the stock.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

CENT has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 0.2%

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $42.04 on Friday. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $29.52 and a one year high of $46.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.60 and a 200 day moving average of $40.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.67.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $883.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 5.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $192,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 64,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,490,141.50. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 17.0% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.9% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 24,377 shares of the company's stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter worth approximately $208,000. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company NASDAQ: CENT is a marketer and manufacturer of products for the pet and garden markets. The company sells its products through retailers, distributors, e-commerce channels and other outlets, serving consumers primarily in the United States.

Its Pet segment offers products for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals. Product categories include treats, toys, bedding, habitats, aquatics supplies, animal health products and training or waste-management products.

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