Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.75.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CENTA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $32.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Central Garden & Pet has a 52-week low of $27.88 and a 52-week high of $41.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.69.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.16. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $900.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $895.68 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total transaction of $25,375,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,189,615 shares in the company, valued at $43,123,543.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total value of $25,375,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,189,615 shares in the company, valued at $43,123,543.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John D. Walker III sold 4,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.31, for a total value of $170,027.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,063 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,889.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 714,218 shares of company stock worth $25,945,528. Company insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 37.4% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter valued at $174,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 31.1% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth $194,000. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides 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, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.