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: $32.54 to $33.90
• 50-Day Range: $31.16 to $35.00
• 52-Week Range: $25.97 to $37.35
• Volume: 377,096 shs
• Average Volume: 263,752 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.10 billion
• P/E Ratio: 13.74
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $44.00
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Central Garden & Pet Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Central Garden & Pet scored higher than 80% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 80th out of 272 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 30.7% upside from its current price of $33.66.

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: 3.89%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Central Garden & Pet are expected to grow by 3.89% in the coming year, from $2.83 to $2.94 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 13.74, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 38.48.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 13.74, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 17.42.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Central Garden & Pet has a P/B Ratio of 1.34. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.89% 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 3.77, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Central Garden & Pet has recently decreased by 1.54%, 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.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.88

News Sentiment

Central Garden & Pet has a news sentiment score of 0.88. 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 higher news sentiment than the 0.57 average news sentiment score of Consumer Discretionary companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 7 news articles for Central Garden & Pet this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.0 / 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 $235,031.00 in 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.

CENTA Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CENTA shares performed this year?

Central Garden & Pet's stock was trading at $29.19 at the beginning of the year. Since then, CENTA stock has increased by 15.3% and is now trading at $33.66.

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

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May, 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 10.99%.

When did Central Garden & Pet's stock split?

Central Garden & Pet's stock split before market open on Friday, February 9th 2024.The 5-4 split was announced on Friday, February 9th 2024. The newly created shares were issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, February 9th 2024. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 125 shares after the split.

Who are Central Garden & Pet's major shareholders?

Central Garden & Pet's top institutional investors include Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC (2.84%), Bank of New York Mellon Corp (0.55%), Principal Financial Group Inc. (0.43%) and Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. (0.37%). Insiders that own company stock include William E Brown, Nicholas Lahanas, Howard Machek, Brooks Pennington III, John Edward Hanson and John Ranelli.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Central Garden & Pet?

Shares of CENTA 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.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/06/2026
• Today: 5/07/2026
• 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: +30.7%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 6 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.45
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 13.74
• Forward P/E Ratio: 11.89
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $162.84 million
• Net Margins: 5.04%
• Pretax Margin: 6.70%
• Return on Equity: 10.99%
• Return on Assets: 4.75%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.76
• Current Ratio: 3.42
• Quick Ratio: 1.97

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $3.13 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.67
• Cash Flow: $4.30 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 7.83
• Book Value: $25.21 per share
• Price / Book: 1.34

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 62,270,000
• Free Float: 49,639,000
• Market Cap: $2.10 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.59