Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Trading 5.1% Higher - Still a Buy?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $38.53 and last traded at $38.32. Approximately 26,730 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 140,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Truist Financial downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 9.9%

The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $833.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $876.36 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 3.90%. Central Garden & Pet's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.39, for a total transaction of $1,943,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,070,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,669,122.35. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 107,800 shares of company stock worth $3,490,112 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.19% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Simplex Trading LLC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 136.2% during the first quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 13.7% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4,556.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.13% of the company's stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.