Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.00.

CENTA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $30.39 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet has a twelve month low of $27.70 and a twelve month high of $41.03. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 3.77%. Analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Highbridge Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 89.8% during the 4th quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 685,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,667,000 after acquiring an additional 324,493 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,979,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,606,000 after acquiring an additional 306,449 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,245,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,373,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,381,000 after acquiring an additional 170,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Industriel ET Commercial acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,818,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

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.