Analysts Set Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) Target Price at $44.00

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENTA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,556 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 116,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,749 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $34.13 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.59. Central Garden & Pet has a 1-year low of $25.97 and a 1-year high of $37.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.