Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.22, but opened at $32.15. Central Garden & Pet shares last traded at $34.13, with a volume of 62,258 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CENTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $41.33.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,125,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,758,426.42. This trade represents a 5.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 30.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,636,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,309 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,653,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,682,000 after acquiring an additional 29,780 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,942,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,392,000 after acquiring an additional 36,251 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,175,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,304,000 after acquiring an additional 68,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,100,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,964,000 after acquiring an additional 38,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

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.