Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Issues Earnings Results

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $882.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Central Garden & Pet updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.850- EPS.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $39.43 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $25.97 and a one year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.55.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aristides Capital LLC boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 8.0% during the third quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 50,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CENTA. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.67.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.