Brandes Investment Partners LP Makes New $2.49 Million Investment in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 85,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,490,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the second 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 239.5% during the second 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CENTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

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

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 EPS 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.