Canaccord Genuity Group Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT)

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Canaccord Genuity Group in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 34.64% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $52.50.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 2.2 %

CENT stock opened at $35.65 on Monday. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $30.75 and a 12 month high of $47.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $996.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.42% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director Brooks Pennington III sold 1,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total transaction of $48,740.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,336,370.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Brooks Pennington III sold 1,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total value of $48,740.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,336,370.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,125,773 shares in the company, valued at $37,758,426.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,986 shares of company stock valued at $2,146,841 over the last 90 days. 9.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $187,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 2nd quarter worth $113,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 748.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 84,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,234,000 after acquiring an additional 74,100 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 6,121 shares during the period. 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.