Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged about 25% in March to 1,062,865 shares (roughly 2.1% of shares outstanding), leaving a days-to-cover of 4.9.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $40.75, while individual broker opinions range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Company insiders have recently sold shares (several directors disposed of stock), and insiders currently own about 20.28% of the company.

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,062,865 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the February 26th total of 850,263 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 215,635 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on CENTA shares. Wall Street Zen cut Central Garden & Pet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. CJS Securities raised Central Garden & Pet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Friday, January 16th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENTA traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,536. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.40 and a 200-day moving average of $30.42. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $25.97 and a 12 month high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.The company had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $126,546.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $428,766.10. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company's stock.

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.

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