Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Technical breakout: Central Garden & Pet passed above its 200-day moving average of $34.17 and traded as high as $38.86, last at $38.75.
• Analyst view: The consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $42.50, after mixed recent rating changes (Weiss upgraded to hold; Zacks cut to hold).
• Fundamentals & insider activity: The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.21 vs. $0.11) but missed revenue and saw a 5.9% YoY decline; company guidance and analyst EPS estimates are around $2.70–2.82, while directors recently sold shares and insiders now own 8.20%.

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $34.17 and traded as high as $38.86. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $38.75, with a volume of 32,540 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CENT. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.6%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.63.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $428,766.10. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director directly owned 646 shares in the company, valued at $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 145.3% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 28,408 shares of the company's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 16,825 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 38,107 shares of the company's stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 17,457 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter worth $246,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 126.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,187 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 26.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 43,843 shares of the company's stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 9,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.