Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Trading Down 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) shares traded down 5.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $30.70 and last traded at $30.74. 316,399 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 275,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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 raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.94.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $328,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 67,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,205,267.46. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 20.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,979,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,606,000 after buying an additional 306,449 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $68,304,000 after buying an additional 68,689 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,373,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,381,000 after purchasing an additional 170,121 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 961,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,781,000 after purchasing an additional 14,144 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,515,000 after purchasing an additional 59,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

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.