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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

CENTA has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $41.75.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

CENTA stock opened at $33.05 on Monday. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $27.88 and a 12 month high of $41.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 0.75.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.16. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The company had revenue of $900.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $895.68 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,123,543.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,123,543.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Howard Machek sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $400,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,474 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,533.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 714,218 shares of company stock valued at $25,945,528 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 0.5% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 50,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 37.4% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 61.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 70,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.