Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT Shares Bought by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) by 145.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,408 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,825 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CENT. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth approximately $255,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 259,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,500,000 after acquiring an additional 72,977 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth $7,347,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 222.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Central Garden & Pet

Here are the key news stories impacting Central Garden & Pet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple quarterly and full‑year EPS forecasts (several Q2/Q3 2026–2028 estimates and FY2026 & FY2028), boosting modeled FY earnings to $2.84 (FY2026) and $2.95 (FY2028); the firm still carries a “Hold” rating, so the revisions improve outlook without a full rating upgrade. Zacks Research estimate revisions
• Positive Sentiment: Management will participate in investor conferences (J.P. Morgan High Yield & Leveraged Finance Conference on March 3); CFO Brad Smith will do a fireside chat and management will hold one‑on‑ones — increased investor access can support multiple‑buyer interest and reduce information asymmetry. Central Garden & Pet to Participate in Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data reported for February appears erroneous (shows 0 shares and NaN change); as published it provides no clear signal about bearish positioning or potential squeeze dynamics. No link available for the raw data entry.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENT opened at $39.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1-year low of $28.77 and a 1-year high of $41.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.68.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Equities analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

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.