Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Shares Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,850 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,339 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.34% of Central Garden & Pet worth $6,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter worth $504,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.6% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 11.6% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 24,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 159.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 14,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CENTA shares. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 2.9%

CENTA stock opened at $29.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.67 and a quick ratio of 2.33. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 12 month low of $25.97 and a 12 month high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.11. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.20% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $678.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.86 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.