Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Lowered to Hold Rating by Truist Financial

Truist Financial cut shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $35.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Argus lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.33.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENT opened at $34.60 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $32.16 and a fifty-two week high of $47.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $35.47 and a 200-day moving average of $36.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01 and a beta of 0.80.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. As a group, analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $328,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 67,111 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,267.46. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 8.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CENT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,474,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,203,000 after purchasing an additional 125,418 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,046,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 138,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,365,000 after buying an additional 25,968 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after buying an additional 24,375 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 186,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,223,000 after buying an additional 23,622 shares during the period. 16.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.