Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from five analysts, while one analyst has rated it as a "Buy."
• The average target price set by analysts for CENTA is $38.67, reflecting a moderate outlook for the stock.
• Insider activity shows significant transactions with two insiders selling shares, reducing their ownership in the company, indicating potential investor caution.

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.6667.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CENTA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total value of $114,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 67,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,194,219.52. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 3,076 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.58, for a total transaction of $100,216.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,491.66. The trade was a 68.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $573,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 879,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,795,000 after buying an additional 47,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,386,000. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $32.17 on Tuesday. Central Garden & Pet has a 52-week low of $27.70 and a 52-week high of $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.66.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.22. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $960.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $993.66 million. Research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.

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