Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Central Garden & Pet shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $47.36 and above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but cautious: the stock has an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and a $54 average price target, although several firms recently downgraded it to “Hold.”
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.54 in EPS and $883.72 million in revenue, despite an 8.2% year-over-year revenue decline.

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $47.36 and last traded at $45.5730, with a volume of 989 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CENT shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.79. The company's 50 day moving average price is $41.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.21. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.67.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $883.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $192,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,490,141.50. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENT. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 181,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 67,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,156,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter valued at $1,613,000. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter worth about $877,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 2nd quarter worth about $650,000. 16.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company NASDAQ: CENT develops, manufactures, and distributes products for the pet and lawn-and-garden markets. Its pet business serves owners of dogs, cats, birds, fish, small animals, and reptiles with products such as toys, chews, treats, habitats, aquatics equipment, bedding, and animal-care supplies.

The company's lawn-and-garden operations offer grass seed, fertilizer, weed and pest control products, soil amendments, and other gardening supplies. Its portfolio includes brands such as Pennington, Aqueon, Kaytee, Nylabone, Four Paws, API, and Wild Bird.

Founded in 1955, Central Garden & Pet sells its products primarily through mass merchants, home-improvement and garden retailers, pet specialty stores, independent retailers, distributors, and e-commerce channels.

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