Central Garden & Pet Company A (CENTA)
Consumer Defensive
Packaged Foods
37.90 $
-0.4%
vs. previous close
Closing price · As of: 31. Jul 2026
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Basics
Market Cap
The value of the entire company on the market: share price times total shares outstanding.
2.4$B
Shares Outstanding
Total number of shares issued. Price times share count gives market cap.
51Mio.
Float
Share of stock freely tradable on the market — not locked up in the hands of founders, insiders, or major shareholders.
–
Beta
Volatility versus the overall market: 1 = moves like the market, 2 = twice as much, under 1 = calmer than the market.
0.5
Performance
Perf. 1M
Price performance over the last month.
11.60%
Perf. 3M
Price performance over the last 3 months.
19.90%
Perf. 6M
Price performance over the last 6 months.
31.80%
YTD Performance (%)
Price performance since the start of the year (Year to Date).
29.90%
52-Week-High Distance
How far the price sits below its highest point over the last 52 weeks. 0% means the stock is at its year high.
-2.3%
Perf. 1Y
Price performance over the last 12 months.
26.89%
Perf. 3Y
Price performance over the last 3 years.
33.60%
Perf. 5Y
Price performance over the last 5 years.
0.70%
Valuation
P/E
Price-to-earnings ratio: how many years of profit does the stock cost? The lower, the cheaper the valuation. No earnings means no P/E.
–
Forward P/E
P/E based on expected earnings for the next 12 months instead of past earnings — analysts' bet on the future.
11.6
PEG
P/E divided by expected earnings growth: puts valuation in relation to growth. Around 1 is considered fair, well above that is pricey.
1.9
P/B
Price-to-book ratio: market value relative to book equity.
–
P/S
Price-to-sales ratio: market value divided by annual sales. Important for companies that aren't (yet) profitable.
0.7
EV/EBITDA
Enterprise value including debt (EV) relative to operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — more comparable than P/E because debt counts too. Extreme values arise when EBITDA is near zero.
8.8
Price/FCF
Market value divided by free cash flow: how many years of freely available cash does the stock cost? More honest than P/E because cash flow is harder to dress up.
8.4
Profitability
Gross Margin
Gross margin: what's left of sales after only direct production costs are deducted — the product's pricing power.
32.2%
EBIT Margin
EBIT margin: operating profit as a percentage of sales — the earning power of the core business before interest and taxes.
12.6%
Net Margin
Net margin: what's left of sales as profit after ALL costs, interest, and taxes.
5.4%
Return on Equity
Return on equity: how much profit does the company generate per year on shareholders' equity?
10.8%
Return on Assets
Return on assets: how much profit the company generates from its total assets (equity and debt combined).
4.7%
Balance Sheet & Safety
Equity Ratio
Equity ratio: equity as a share of total assets. The higher, the more resilient the balance sheet.
44.1%
Debt/Equity
Leverage ratio: financial debt divided by equity. Under 1 is generally seen as solid; negative values mean negative equity.
–
fortress balance sheet
Altman Z″
Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score. We use the Z″ variant, built from four balance-sheet ratios — it is designed for service companies and non-manufacturers and uses book value instead of market value. On that scale: below 1.1 = danger zone, 2.6 and up = safe zone, in between a grey area. Because the classic Altman Z is calculated differently, the two numbers are not directly comparable. The formula does not fit banks, insurers, or real-estate stocks.
8.13
Piotroski
Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag.
7 out of 9
Growth
Sales Growth Last Quarter
Sales growth in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY).
8.70%
EPS Growth Last Quarter
Growth in earnings per share in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY).
30.60%
Sales Growth (Year)
Sales growth in the last fiscal year versus the year before.
-2.23%
Forward Sales Growth
Sales growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee.
-3.20%
Forward EPS Growth
Earnings-per-share growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee.
4.00%
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Stage
Weinstein phases 1 through 4: 1 = basing, 2 = uptrend (the only buy phase), 3 = topping, 4 = downtrend. Measured against the 30-week line.
2
RS Rating
Relative strength from 1 to 99: an RS of 95 means the stock has outperformed 95% of all stocks.
65
EPS Rating
Earnings growth rating from 1 to 99 versus all stocks — high values mean above-average earnings growth.
71
Piotroski
Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag.
7 out of 9
Fundamental Rating
Our own Fundamental Rating: 0 to 100 points with an A+ to F grade. 50 points is the average across the universe, 100 the best possible score. It scores growth, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet safety — every stock percentile-ranked against all others. Grades: A+ from 95, A from 75, B from 55, C from 45, D from 25, E from 5, F below.
B (55 out of 100)
fortress balance sheet
Altman Z″
Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score. We use the Z″ variant, built from four balance-sheet ratios — it is designed for service companies and non-manufacturers and uses book value instead of market value. On that scale: below 1.1 = danger zone, 2.6 and up = safe zone, in between a grey area. Because the classic Altman Z is calculated differently, the two numbers are not directly comparable. The formula does not fit banks, insurers, or real-estate stocks.
8.13
AI Rating
–Not yet rated — we only show a category once an SEC-backed file with at least two cited passages is available. How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Analysts & Price Target
Current Price
37.90 $
Price Target (average)
43.50 $
The price target sits 14.8% above the current price.
- Consensus
- Strong Buy
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Next Reporting Date
5. Aug 2026
· after the close
· Q2 2026
- Expected Earnings per Share
- 1.51 $
Expected date of the next quarterly or annual figures. Dates do shift occasionally — only the invitation issued by the company is binding.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.21 | 2,559.50 | 656 | 3.50 | 2.10 | -69 | -75 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.98 | 5.70 | 834 | -7.40 | 7.60 | -47 | -58 |
| 2025: Q2 | 1.48 | 24.10 | 961 | -3.60 | 9.90 | 266 | 252 |
| 2025: Q3 | -0.16 | – | 678 | 1.30 | -1.40 | 183 | 172 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.11 | -48.50 | 617 | -6.00 | 1.10 | -70 | -81 |
| 2026: Q1 | 1.28 | 30.70 | 906 | 8.70 | 8.80 | -50 | -60 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
About the Company
Central Garden & Pet Company produziert und vertreibt verschiedene Produkte für die Märkte Rasen und Garten sowie Heimtierbedarf in den USA. Sie ist in zwei Segmenten tätig: Pet und Garden.
| Employees | 6,000 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Walnut Creek, CA |
| Website | central.com |
| IPO Date | 15. Jul 1993 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| William E. Brown | Founder & Chairman | 1941 |
| Nicholas Lahanas | CEO & Director | 1969 |
| Bradley G. Smith | Chief Financial Officer | 1966 |
| John D. Walker III | President of Garden Consumer Products | 1958 |
| John Edward Hanson | President of Pet Consumer Products | 1965 |
| Howard A. Machek CPA | Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer | 1963 |
| Chris Walter | Senior VP & Chief Information Officer | – |
| Friederike Edelmann | Vice President of Investor Relations | – |
| Apur Patel | Chief Legal Officer | – |
| Marilyn Leahy | Senior Vice President of Human Resources | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Insider Transactions
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. Jul 2026 | Machek Howard | Chief Accounting Officer | Other | 3,924 | 37.59 | 147,503 |
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
View all insider transactions →Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 31, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.