Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

CENTA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 3.9 %

CENTA opened at $32.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $27.70 and a 12 month high of $41.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.28.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 3.37%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,621,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 161.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 122,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after buying an additional 75,718 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,175,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,304,000 after buying an additional 68,689 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,515,000 after buying an additional 59,489 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 9.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 691,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,700,000 after acquiring an additional 59,368 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides dog and cat supplies, such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management, and training pads; supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles, and pet birds, including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.