Zacks Research Upgrades Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) to “Strong-Buy”

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on CENT. CJS Securities raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENT opened at $33.09 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 3.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.70. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $28.77 and a fifty-two week high of $41.25.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.11. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $678.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 126.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 26.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 43,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 9,050 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 152,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,975,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares during the period. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.