Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Central Garden & Pet shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $41.53 and closing around $41.32, while remaining near the 50-day average of $41.74.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but remains a consensus “Moderate Buy”, with a $54 average price target; Zacks Research and Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.54 in EPS and $883.72 million in revenue, though revenue declined 8.2% year over year. An insider also sold 5,000 shares at $38.50.

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $40.88 and traded as high as $41.53. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $41.32, with a volume of 107,782 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CENT shares. Zacks Research downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Central Garden & Pet from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 0.1%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.79.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $883.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $192,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 64,679 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,141.50. This represents a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 181,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,684,000 after buying an additional 67,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter valued at about $2,156,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter worth about $1,613,000. Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth about $877,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter worth about $650,000. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company's stock.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Company NASDAQ: CENT is a marketer and manufacturer of products for the pet and garden markets. The company sells its products through retailers, distributors, e-commerce channels and other outlets, serving consumers primarily in the United States.

Its Pet segment offers products for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals. Product categories include treats, toys, bedding, habitats, aquatics supplies, animal health products and training or waste-management products.

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