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

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the May 31st total of 1,090,000 shares. Currently, 12.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 102,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,189,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,123,543.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 4,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.31, for a total value of $170,027.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,063 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,889.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William E. Brown sold 700,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $43,123,543.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 744,218 shares of company stock worth $27,144,928 in the last 90 days. 9.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 909.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 112.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CENT. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.75.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CENT opened at $38.43 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Central Garden & Pet has a 1-year low of $29.73 and a 1-year high of $47.48.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.16. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 11.30%. The firm had revenue of $900.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.28 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.