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. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.850- for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.950. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.0%

CENT stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.06. The stock had a trading volume of 83,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,633. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $28.77 and a one year high of $45.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.61.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $882.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,100,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,942,000 after acquiring an additional 32,716 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 385,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,409,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 259,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,500,000 after purchasing an additional 72,977 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter worth about $7,347,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 178,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,842,000 after buying an additional 2,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.