Central Garden & Pet (CENT) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products for the lawn & garden and pet supplies markets. With roots tracing back to 1900, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic innovation to offer a diverse portfolio that spans horticultural products, outdoor leisure items and an extensive range of pet food, supplies and accessories. Central Garden & Pet serves a broad customer base that includes national retail chains, independent garden centers, pet specialty stores and e-commerce platforms across North America and select international markets.

In the pet segment, the company’s offerings encompass bird seed, small animal feed, aquatic products, reptile supplies and pet bedding, supported by well-known brands such as Kaytee, Aqueon, Zilla and Kaytee Nutrition. Central Garden & Pet operates a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers designed to ensure reliable inventory availability and efficient delivery. The pet business is complemented by proprietary research and development capabilities focused on product quality, nutritional science and sustainable packaging.

The garden segment provides a comprehensive array of products for landscaping and lawn care, including soils, mulches, fertilizers, season extenders, pest control solutions and decorative planters. Signature brands such as Miracle-Gro Licensed products and Sunshine Potting Mix have become staples in home gardening, while specialty lines address the needs of both casual weekend landscapers and professional horticulturalists. Central Garden & Pet also markets water garden supplies, fencing and lawn maintenance tools under recognizable brand names.

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Central Garden & Pet has expanded its geographic reach through targeted acquisitions and partnerships, serving customers in the United States, Canada and select overseas territories. Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Eric R. Smid, the company emphasizes operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation and sustainable growth. Central Garden & Pet continues to invest in product innovation and channel development to capitalize on long-term trends in pet ownership and home gardening.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $39.92 to $41.18
• 50-Day Range: $34.21 to $40.96
• 52-Week Range: $31.97 to $43.88
• Volume: 54,107 shs
• Average Volume: 140,209 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.63 billion
• P/E Ratio: 21.45
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $40.00
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Central Garden & Pet Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Central Garden & Pet scored higher than 32% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 220th out of 294 stocks in the consumer discretionary sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Central Garden & Pet has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.33, and is based on 1 buy rating, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Central Garden & Pet has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 2.10%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Central Garden & Pet are expected to grow by 2.10% in the coming year, from $2.38 to $2.43 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 21.45, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 26.51.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 21.45, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 20.88.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Central Garden & Pet has a P/B Ratio of 1.73. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

13.89% of the float of Central Garden & Pet has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Central Garden & Pet has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 10.3, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Central Garden & Pet has recently decreased by 2.54%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Central Garden & Pet does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Central Garden & Pet does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.8 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.45

Percentage of Shares Shorted

13.89% of the float of Central Garden & Pet has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Central Garden & Pet has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 10.3, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Central Garden & Pet has recently decreased by 2.54%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.52

News Sentiment

Central Garden & Pet has a news sentiment score of 0.52. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.81 average news sentiment score of Consumer Discretionary companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Central Garden & Pet this week, compared to 4 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

2 people have searched for CENT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Central Garden & Pet insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $3,490,112.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 8.19% of the stock of Central Garden & Pet is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

Only 16.13% of the stock of Central Garden & Pet is held by institutions.

CENT Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CENT shares performed this year?

Central Garden & Pet's stock was trading at $38.80 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, CENT stock has increased by 3.4% and is now trading at $40.12.

How were Central Garden & Pet's earnings last quarter?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May, 7th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.10. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

When did Central Garden & Pet's stock split?

Shares of Central Garden & Pet split on the morning of Friday, February 9th 2024.The 5-4 split was announced on Friday, February 9th 2024. The newly minted shares were distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, February 9th 2024. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 125 shares after the split.

Does Central Garden & Pet have any subsidiaries?

Central Garden & Pet subsidiaries include Green Garden.

Who are Central Garden & Pet's major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Central Garden & Pet include Exchange Traded Concepts LLC (0.05%). Insiders that own company stock include William E Brown, Nicholas Lahanas, John D Walker III, Brooks Pennington III, John Edward Hanson and John Ranelli.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Central Garden & Pet?

Shares of CENT stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Central Garden & Pet own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Central Garden & Pet investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Adobe (ADBE), ServiceNow (NOW) and Arista Networks (ANET).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/07/2025
• Today: 7/18/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/06/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Consumer Discretionary
• Industry: CONSM PD - MISC DIS
• Sub-Industry: Wholesale
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:CENT
• CIK: 887733
• Web: www.central.com
• Phone: (925) 948-4000
• Fax: 302-636-5454
• Employees: 6,450
• Year Founded: 1980

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Central Garden & Pet: $40.00
• High Price Target: $45.00
• Low Price Target: $35.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: -2.3%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.33
• Research Coverage: 3 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.87
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 21.90
• Forward P/E Ratio: 17.21
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $107.98 million
• Net Margins: 3.90%
• Pretax Margin: 5.20%
• Return on Equity: 10.14%
• Return on Assets: 4.40%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.77
• Current Ratio: 3.31
• Quick Ratio: 1.93

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $3.20 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.84
• Cash Flow: $3.81 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 10.75
• Book Value: $23.20 per share
• Price / Book: 1.77

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 65,510,000
• Free Float: 60,142,000
• Market Cap: $2.68 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.70