Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives $41.00 Average PT from Analysts

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

CENTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $328,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 67,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,267.46. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 20.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,979,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,606,000 after purchasing an additional 306,449 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 1.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,942,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,392,000 after purchasing an additional 36,251 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,175,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,304,000 after acquiring an additional 68,689 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,373,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,381,000 after acquiring an additional 170,121 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 961,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,781,000 after acquiring an additional 14,144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CENTA opened at $32.67 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.70. Central Garden & Pet has a 1-year low of $27.70 and a 1-year high of $41.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 3.77%. Analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish and small animals as well as outdoor cushions.