Versor Investments LP Invests $579,000 in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT), purchasing 15,788 shares valued at approximately $579,000 in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and Simplex Trading LLC, have recently modified their holdings in Central Garden & Pet, collectively showing increasing interest in the company.
• Analysts have lowered the rating of Central Garden & Pet from "buy" to "hold," setting a price target of $35.00, with a consensus target price of $40.00 based on current estimates.

Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CENT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,603 shares of the company's stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 24,375 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 87,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,379,000 after acquiring an additional 11,532 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 35,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 796,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,920,000 after acquiring an additional 22,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Truist Financial cut Central Garden & Pet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:CENT traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.15. The company had a trading volume of 50,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 67,800. Central Garden & Pet Company has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $43.88. The business's fifty day moving average is $37.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.70.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.22. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 4.44%.The firm had revenue of $960.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $993.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total value of $249,912.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 377,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,091,351.32. This represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.19% of the company's stock.

Central Garden & Pet 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.