Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Short Interest Update

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the October 31st total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 119,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 13.4 days. Currently, 16.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 23.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 10.3% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 29.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 6.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

CENT stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.31. The company had a trading volume of 28,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,541. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.37. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $32.17 and a fifty-two week high of $47.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 0.81.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.04. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $669.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.83 million. The firm’s revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CENT. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

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.