Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Break Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Central Garden & Pet shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $35.01 versus the average of $35.86, signaling potential technical weakness.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $46.67, despite several recent downgrades and JPMorgan’s “underweight” rating.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.54 in EPS versus $1.51 expected, while institutional investors increased their holdings; insiders own 20.28% of shares and one insider recently sold 5,000 shares.

Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $35.86 and traded as low as $35.01. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $35.53, with a volume of 342,422 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CENTA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research cut Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Central Garden & Pet from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.67.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.63. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.86.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 5.39%. The firm had revenue of $882.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. Equities analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $192,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 64,679 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,141.50. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,207,738 shares of the company's stock worth $85,594,000 after acquiring an additional 122,327 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,012,360 shares of the company's stock worth $32,821,000 after buying an additional 47,980 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter valued at $13,749,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 259,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,405,000 after buying an additional 8,088 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 8.1% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 228,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,408,000 after buying an additional 17,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company's stock.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Company NASDAQ: CENTA is a marketer and manufacturer of products for the pet and lawn-and-garden industries. The company sells a broad portfolio of branded and private-label products through retailers, distributors, e-commerce channels and other outlets.

Its pet segment offers food, treats, toys, bedding, habitats, aquatics products, grooming supplies, training products and other accessories for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals. Its brands include Nylabone, Kaytee, Amdro, Adams, Four Paws, K&H Pet Products, Comfort Zone, Chuckit! and Nature's Miracle, among others.

Central Garden & Pet's garden business provides lawn and garden care products, including grass seed, fertilizers, insect and weed control products, garden supplies, decorative products and live goods.

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