Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 11th, 2026

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CENTA. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on CENTA

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $38.19 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.77. Central Garden & Pet has a twelve month low of $25.97 and a twelve month high of $40.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 3.79, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.03. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 5.39%.The business had revenue of $882.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 8.0% during the third quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.