Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Posted by Francis Steltz on Oct 26th, 2026

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT – Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $47.36 and last traded at $45.5730, with a volume of 989 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CENT. Weiss Ratings lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.55 and its 200-day moving average is $41.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $883.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Walker, III sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $192,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 64,679 shares in the company, valued at $2,490,141.50. This represents a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 7.6% during the first quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 8,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 119.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 598.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) develops, manufactures, and distributes products for the pet and lawn-and-garden markets. Its pet business serves owners of dogs, cats, birds, fish, small animals, and reptiles with products such as toys, chews, treats, habitats, aquatics equipment, bedding, and animal-care supplies.

The company’s lawn-and-garden operations offer grass seed, fertilizer, weed and pest control products, soil amendments, and other gardening supplies. Its portfolio includes brands such as Pennington, Aqueon, Kaytee, Nylabone, Four Paws, API, and Wild Bird.

Founded in 1955, Central Garden & Pet sells its products primarily through mass merchants, home-improvement and garden retailers, pet specialty stores, independent retailers, distributors, and e-commerce channels.