Central Garden & Pet (CENTA) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Central Garden & Pet Co. engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on 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, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish and small animals as well as outdoor cushions. The Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass, vegetable, flower and herb seed, wild bird feed, bird houses and other birding accessories, weed, grass, and other herbicides, insecticide and pesticide products, fertilizers, and live plants. The company was founded by William E. Brown in 1980 and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $30.14 to $32.30
• 50-Day Range: $30.42 to $34.19
• 52-Week Range: $27.70 to $41.03
• Volume: 1.71 million shs
• Average Volume: 280,418 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.00 billion
• P/E Ratio: 16.74
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $41.00
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Central Garden & Pet Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Central Garden & Pet scored higher than 73% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 110th out of 280 stocks in the consumer discretionary sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Central Garden & Pet has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.80, and is based on 2 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Central Garden & Pet has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 2.10%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Central Garden & Pet are expected to grow by 2.10% in the coming year, from $2.38 to $2.43 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 16.74, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 23.52.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Central Garden & Pet is 16.74, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Consumer Discretionary sector average P/E ratio of about 16.87.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Central Garden & Pet has a P/B Ratio of 1.31. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.97% of the float of Central Garden & Pet has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Central Garden & Pet has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.4, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Central Garden & Pet has recently increased by 4.31%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Central Garden & Pet does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Central Garden & Pet does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.97% of the float of Central Garden & Pet has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Central Garden & Pet has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.4, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Central Garden & Pet has recently increased by 4.31%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.22

News Sentiment

Central Garden & Pet has a news sentiment score of 1.22. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.75 average news sentiment score of Consumer Discretionary companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 7 news articles for Central Garden & Pet this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Central Garden & Pet insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $328,600.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

20.28% of the stock of Central Garden & Pet is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

50.82% of the stock of Central Garden & Pet is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

CENTA Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CENTA shares performed this year?

Central Garden & Pet's stock was trading at $33.05 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, CENTA stock has decreased by 7.8% and is now trading at $30.46.
View the best growth stocks for 2025 here.

How were Central Garden & Pet's earnings last quarter?

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February, 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 3.77%.

When did Central Garden & Pet's stock split?

Central Garden & Pet's stock split on Friday, February 9th 2024. The 5-4 split was announced on Friday, February 9th 2024. The newly minted shares were payable to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, February 9th 2024. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 125 shares after the split.

Who are Central Garden & Pet's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Central Garden & Pet include Vanguard Group Inc. (9.12%), Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (5.47%), Victory Capital Management Inc. (4.47%) and Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC (3.10%). Insiders that own company stock include William E Brown, Nicholas Lahanas, Howard Machek, Brooks Pennington III, John Edward Hanson and John Ranelli.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Central Garden & Pet?

Shares of CENTA stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 2/05/2025
• Today: 3/24/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 5/06/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Consumer Discretionary
• Industry: Miscellaneous nondurable goods
• Sub-Industry: Household Products
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:CENTA
• CIK: 887733
• Web: www.central.com
• Phone: (925) 948-4000
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: 7,000
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $41.00
• High Stock Price Target: $50.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $31.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +34.6%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.80
• Research Coverage: 5 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $1.82
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 16.74
• Forward P/E Ratio: 12.80
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $107.98 million
• Net Margins: 3.77%
• Pretax Margin: 5.00%
• Return on Equity: 10.08%
• Return on Assets: 4.38%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.78
• Current Ratio: 3.47
• Quick Ratio: 1.97

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $3.22 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.62
• Cash Flow: $3.53 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 8.64
• Book Value: $23.20 per share
• Price / Book: 1.31

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 65,507,000
• Free Float: 52,222,000
• Market Cap: $2.00 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.70