Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives $41.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

CENTA has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus cut Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 0.6 %

CENTA opened at $32.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.07. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.70. Central Garden & Pet has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $41.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 3.47.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. Sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $328,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 67,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,267.46. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 668.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 43.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 253.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.