Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 14,144 Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 961,615 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,144 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 1.47% of Central Garden & Pet worth $31,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 122,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after buying an additional 75,718 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,573,000. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,922,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 268,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,868,000 after buying an additional 8,889 shares during the period. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 685,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,667,000 after buying an additional 324,493 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENTA opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. Central Garden & Pet has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $40.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.47 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.06.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The business had revenue of $833.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.36 million. Analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CENTA. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.