Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 118,225 Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 118,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,451,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 239.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 4,388 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CENTA has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $36.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45. Central Garden & Pet Company has a fifty-two week low of $25.97 and a fifty-two week high of $37.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet 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.