Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.700- for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.770. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CENT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. CJS Securities raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 3.9%

CENT stock traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.04. 73,503 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 68,645. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $28.77 and a one year high of $41.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 3.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.80.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 25,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.8% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.