Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENTA) saw a notable increase in the number of short positions in December. A month before December 15th, 672,600 shares were borrowed, up 16.9% from the 786,200 shares borrowed as of December 15th. 165,500 shares are traded daily. A total of 20% of the company’s shares are traded on the short market.
On November 21st, Central Gardens and Pets (NASDAQ: CENTA) released its latest quarterly earnings report. His actual earnings per share the company earned in the quarter was $0.04, which is $0.03 less than market experts estimated the company’s earnings of $0.07 per share. was. Nonetheless, Central Garden & Pet’s performance is very satisfactory, demonstrating a respectable net profit margin of 4.56% and return on equity of 11.68%. Also, the company’s performance was very positive. Actual revenue for the quarter was $707.44 million, well below the forecast of $724.45 million provided by market analysts. Analysts working on the sell-side expect Central Garden & Pet’s earnings per share to be $2.65 this year.
An average of 176,687 CENTA shares traded during Friday’s trading hours, dropping $0.33 to reach an overall value of $35.80. The company’s current market capitalization is $1.94 billion, with a price/earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.63. Shares of Central Gardens & Pets have fallen to $33.69 over the past year, but have hit a high of $48.63 over the same period. They have a ratio of $0.89 in equities to $1 of liquidity and $3.34 of liquidity to $1 of liquidity, respectively. The 50-day moving average price is $38.25 and the 200-day moving average price is $38.45.
Recent research on CENTA has been highlighted by various research firms, each conducting research. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has raised its price target on Central Garden & Pet from $37.00 to $40.00 and assigned the company a Neutral rating in a research report released on November 22nd. was rated a ‘c+’ rating in a research report published on November 21. This report was published in the United States. On October 19, 2013, StockNews.com issued a “hold” recommendation instead of a “buy” recommendation after the website had previously issued a “buy” recommendation. KeyCorp lowered its price target on Central Garden & Pet stock to $48.00 from $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report released Tuesday, November 22nd. His two companies, on the other hand, were the only companies he recommended that investors hold shares in. The stock has been given a “moderate buy” consensus rating, according to Bloomberg, with a consensus price target set at $49.50. Additionally, the target price is set at $49.50 by consensus.
John D. Walker III, a member of the company’s management team, sold 3,400 shares of the company on December 1. As a result, another piece of information about Central Gardens & Pets was recently discovered. Total sales reached $131,682.00, resulting in shares trading at an average of $38.73 per his share. As a result of this transaction, the company insider now owns his 88,272 shares in the company, giving him a market capitalization of $3,418,774.56. Access to legal files detailing transaction disclosures can be obtained from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website. This file can be found on the website. Additionally, an individual employed by the company holds his 20.28% of the company’s shares.
The amount of CENTA held by hedge funds has both increased and decreased in the most recent period. BlackRock Inc. increased his stake in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. is now worth 7,362,931 shares, worth $251,517,000 after purchasing an additional 120,910 of his shares in the most recent quarter. In the first quarter, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its shareholding in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7%, bringing its total shareholding in the company to 100%. After acquiring 72,345 shares in the most recent quarter, Vanguard Group Inc. now directly owns 4,371,134 shares of the company, valued at $178,254,000. As a result, the number of direct shares held by the company is now 4,371,134 shares. During the third quarter, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Central Garden & Pet shareholding by 2.8%. After acquiring an additional 67,104 shares in the most recent fiscal quarter, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now holds 2,495,181 of his shares in its portfolio. These shares are worth $85,236,000. In the third quarter, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet in its portfolio by 43%. After purchasing an additional 527,216 shares in the most recent quarter, Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns a total of 1,753,406 shares in the company, valued at $59,897,000. This brings the total number of shares owned by the company to 1,753,406. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 4.0% in the first three months of the year. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,526,429 shares after purchasing an additional 58,677 shares in the most recent quarter. The value of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings is $62,248,000. Hedge funds and other types of institutional investors hold a combined 69.21% of the company’s market capitalization.