Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives $42.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

CENTA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.28, for a total value of $85,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,178.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director Brooks Pennington III sold 1,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total value of $48,740.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,336,370.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.28, for a total transaction of $85,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,178.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,986 shares of company stock valued at $2,146,841 in the last ninety days. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 2nd quarter valued at $154,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 503.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Logan Stone Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC now owns 256,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,461,000 after buying an additional 6,181 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 631,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,866,000 after buying an additional 33,379 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $32.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.73. Central Garden & Pet has a 12-month low of $27.88 and a 12-month high of $41.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.06.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $996.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.42% and a return on equity of 10.66%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

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.