Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 16.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,482 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,496 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $6,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 152.1% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 239.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENTA opened at $34.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Central Garden & Pet Company has a twelve month low of $25.97 and a twelve month high of $37.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.67.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CENTA. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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.