Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Director John Ranelli Sells 3,668 Shares of Stock

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $126,546.00. Following the sale, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,287. The trade was a 85.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENT opened at $39.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.73. Central Garden & Pet Company has a twelve month low of $28.77 and a twelve month high of $41.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.10 and a 200 day moving average of $33.63.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.The business had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 632.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 222.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 152.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT) is a leading North American specialty retailer, manufacturer and distributor serving the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. In the Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet offers a comprehensive range of products including pet food, treats, accessories, training products and habitat solutions for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. The Garden segment encompasses a wide array of lawn, garden and outdoor living products, such as soils, fertilizers, planters, pest control solutions, landscape lighting and watering equipment.

Central Garden & Pet’s product portfolio includes both proprietary and branded offerings.