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

Company Overview

Central Garden & Pet Co. is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories. Signature brands such as Amdro®, Preen®, and Vigoro® are sold through home improvement chains, mass merchandisers and independent garden centers, addressing seasonal and year-round gardening needs.

In its Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet manufactures and markets a wide range of consumable pet products and accessories for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals. Brands such as Kaytee®, BioSpot®, Nylabone® and JW Pet® cover feeding, enrichment, health and habitat solutions, serving pet specialty stores, veterinary clinics and mass retailers.

With in-house manufacturing facilities, research and development capabilities, and a focus on innovation, Central Garden & Pet supports customers with product quality, availability and compliance. The company’s leadership team, led by President and CEO Robert E. Grote, emphasizes integrated supply chain management, sustainability initiatives and strategic brand development to drive long-term growth.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $34.48 to $35.35
• 50-Day Range: $31.16 to $34.90
• 52-Week Range: $25.97 to $37.71
• Volume: 269,139 shs
• Average Volume: 312,793 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.17 billion
• P/E Ratio: 12.59
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $44.00
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Central Garden & Pet Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Central Garden & Pet scored higher than 57% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 131st out of 270 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: 3.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Central Garden & Pet has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 1 strong buy rating, 2 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Upside Potential

Central Garden & Pet has a consensus price target of $44.00, representing about 27.1% upside from its current price of $34.63.

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: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.15%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Central Garden & Pet are expected to grow by 3.15% in the coming year, from $2.86 to $2.95 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 12.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.83.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 12.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 18.50.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Central Garden & Pet has a P/B Ratio of 1.31. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.25% 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 4.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Central Garden & Pet has recently increased by 18.63%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

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.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: -0.09

News Sentiment

Central Garden & Pet has a news sentiment score of -0.09. 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 0.53 average news sentiment score of Consumer Discretionary companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 11 news articles for Central Garden & Pet this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Central Garden & Pet insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

20.28% of the stock of Central Garden & Pet is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

50.82% of the stock of Central Garden & Pet is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/06/2026
• Today: 5/27/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/05/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Consumer Discretionary
• Industry: CONSM PD - MISC DIS
• Sub-Industry: Household Products
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:CENTA
• CIK: 887733
• Web: www.central.com
• Phone: (925) 948-4000
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: 7,000
• Year Founded: 1980

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Central Garden & Pet: $44.00
• High Price Target: $50.00
• Low Price Target: $32.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +27.1%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 6 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.75
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 12.59
• Forward P/E Ratio: 12.11
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $162.84 million
• Net Margins: 5.42%
• Pretax Margin: 7.18%
• Return on Equity: 11.55%
• Return on Assets: 5.04%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.72
• Current Ratio: 3.45
• Quick Ratio: 2.16

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $3.13 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.69
• Cash Flow: $4.19 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 8.27
• Book Value: $26.41 per share
• Price / Book: 1.31

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 62,570,000
• Free Float: 49,882,000
• Market Cap: $2.17 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.59