Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $42.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. Central Garden & Pet traded as high as $40.18 and last traded at $39.99, with a volume of 355319 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.94.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on CENTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.25.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, insider John Edward Hanson sold 5,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.19, for a total transaction of $197,887.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,318,757.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director John Ranelli sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.34, for a total transaction of $92,016.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Edward Hanson sold 5,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.19, for a total transaction of $197,887.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,460 shares in the company, valued at $1,318,757.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,822 shares of company stock valued at $965,026 over the last three months. Company insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 11,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 8.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 25,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 6.5% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 14,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 47,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.0% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 888,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,632,000 after purchasing an additional 34,423 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The business had revenue of $634.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.11 million. On average, research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.