Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,297 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned 0.78% of Central Garden & Pet worth $14,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 17,556 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 179.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 116,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,749 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CENTA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $36.95 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.49. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52 week low of $25.97 and a 52 week high of $38.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.