Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Estimate for CENT Earnings

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for Central Garden & Pet in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn ($0.04) per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.05. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Central Garden & Pet’s current full-year earnings is $2.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Central Garden & Pet’s Q4 2027 earnings at ($0.02) EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.88 EPS.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.The company had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CENT. CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENT opened at $39.88 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.67. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $28.77 and a 52 week high of $41.25. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter worth about $48,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 222.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $126,546.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,287. This trade represents a 85.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at $428,766.10. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) is a leading North American specialty retailer, manufacturer and distributor serving the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. In the Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet offers a comprehensive range of products including pet food, treats, accessories, training products and habitat solutions for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. The Garden segment encompasses a wide array of lawn, garden and outdoor living products, such as soils, fertilizers, planters, pest control solutions, landscape lighting and watering equipment.

Central Garden & Pet’s product portfolio includes both proprietary and branded offerings.