Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CENTA. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $37.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.57. Central Garden & Pet has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $39.99. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,437,000 after buying an additional 20,819 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,174,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,034,000 after acquiring an additional 73,755 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,123,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,984,000 after acquiring an additional 738,860 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,924,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,729,000 after acquiring an additional 54,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,317,000 after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.