StockNews.com Lowers Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CENTA. Argus upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $41.75.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $33.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.93. Central Garden & Pet has a 1-year low of $27.88 and a 1-year high of $41.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $900.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.68 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.49%. Analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total value of $25,375,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,189,615 shares in the company, valued at $43,123,543.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total value of $25,375,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,189,615 shares in the company, valued at $43,123,543.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John D. Walker III sold 4,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.31, for a total value of $170,027.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,063 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,889.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 714,218 shares of company stock worth $25,945,528 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 37.4% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth about $174,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 31.1% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides 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, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.