Invenomic Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 471,015 Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 471,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,749,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 16.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 235,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,954,000 after purchasing an additional 32,496 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,924,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,729,000 after purchasing an additional 54,930 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 5.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,217,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,484,000 after purchasing an additional 115,706 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $893,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the third quarter valued at approximately $661,000. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CENTA. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

CENTA opened at $36.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52-week low of $25.97 and a 52-week high of $38.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.49.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.The firm had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.