Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $41.57 and last traded at $41.0860, with a volume of 11,704 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CENTA shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.67.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.05 and its 200-day moving average is $35.17.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $882.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $192,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 64,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,141.50. This represents a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 20.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,207,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,594,000 after purchasing an additional 122,327 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 67.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 121,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,944,000 after purchasing an additional 49,201 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,012,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,821,000 after purchasing an additional 47,980 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 76,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 31,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 140,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,549,000 after purchasing an additional 31,009 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company is a manufacturer and distributor of products for the pet and garden markets. The company offers supplies for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and other companion animals, as well as products for lawn and garden care, pest control, wild bird feeding and outdoor living.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Nylabone, Kaytee, Aqueon, Zilla, Four Paws, K&H Pet Products, Pennington, Amdro, Sevin, Lilly Miller, Ironite and Ferry-Morse. Products are sold through mass merchants, warehouse clubs, home improvement stores, specialty retailers, independent retailers and e-commerce channels.

Central Garden & Pet serves customers primarily in the United States and also has operations and sales activities in Canada.