Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

CENTA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ CENTA opened at $34.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.83. Central Garden & Pet has a one year low of $27.02 and a one year high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.47. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.69.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.15. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 4.06%. The firm had revenue of $634.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.11 million. Research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, CAO Howard Machek sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total transaction of $182,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 59,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,162,378.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Central Garden & Pet news, CAO Howard Machek sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.40, for a total value of $182,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 59,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,162,378.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total value of $92,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,822 shares of company stock worth $965,026 in the last three months. 20.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 44.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $455,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 58.2% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 7,797 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 113,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.