Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.75.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Argus raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $37.03 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $47.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.75.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $996.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 4.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,125,773 shares in the company, valued at $37,758,426.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.28, for a total transaction of $85,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 822 shares in the company, valued at $28,178.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $2,012,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,125,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,758,426.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,986 shares of company stock worth $2,146,841 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 6.2% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 885,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,085,000 after buying an additional 51,454 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 777,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,926,000 after buying an additional 5,571 shares during the period. Orchard Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Orchard Capital Management LLC now owns 169,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,474,000 after buying an additional 8,914 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 24.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 162,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,262,000 after buying an additional 32,009 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 86,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,345,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.