Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $38.00 to $34.00. The stock had previously closed at $32.70, but opened at $31.11. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $31.78, with a volume of 11,279 shares trading hands.

CENTA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. StockNews.com lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total transaction of $25,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,189,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,123,543.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total value of $25,375,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,189,615 shares in the company, valued at $43,123,543.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Machek sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $400,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,533.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 714,218 shares of company stock valued at $25,945,528. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 3,558.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 216.7% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.42.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $900.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $895.68 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 11.30%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.