Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of CENT Q3 Earnings

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Central Garden & Pet in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings of $1.24 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.59. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Central Garden & Pet’s current full-year earnings is $2.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Central Garden & Pet’s Q3 2027 earnings at $1.36 EPS.

CENT has been the subject of several other reports. 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 boosted their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENT opened at $38.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.26. Central Garden & Pet has a 52-week low of $28.77 and a 52-week high of $41.53.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.Central Garden & Pet’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 38,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 17,457 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 145.3% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 28,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 16,825 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 808,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,178 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 33,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 126.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 6,244 shares during the period. 16.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.