Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

Several research firms recently issued reports on CENTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.7%

CENTA opened at $29.40 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $25.97 and a fifty-two week high of $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.67 and a quick ratio of 2.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.63.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.11. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $678.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $657.86 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 58,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.9% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.3% in the third quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC now owns 11,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 40.0% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 14,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.