Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $37.87 and traded as high as $44.59. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $44.50, with a volume of 91,259 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CENT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 3.3%

The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.60.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENT. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 25,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 7.6% in the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 8,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.