CENTA Stock Analysis: Central Garden & Pet | NASDAQ
Packaged Foods | NASDAQ, USA | Market Cap: 2.342m USD | 12M Return: 2.8% | Charts, Fundamentals & Technical Analysis
Avg Turnover: 14.8M
EPS Trend: 89.5%
Qual. Beats: 6
Rev. Trend: -88.4%
Qual. Beats: 1
Warnings
Tailwinds
No distinct edge detected
Seasonality 10.5 years of data
How good or bad each month usually is (without trend). The score below shows how much you can trust it: 0 = pure chance, >40 gets interesting and >55 is strong.
Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENTA) is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor serving two consumer-facing markets: pet supplies and lawn & garden products. The company is structured around two operating segments - Pet and Garden - through which it offers branded products across dog/cat care, aquatics and small animals, equine and livestock, wild bird feeding, lawn seed, fertilizers, and pest control. Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Nylabone, Kaytee, Aqueon, K&H, Pennington, Amdro, and Sevin, with products sold via independent distributors, big-box and national/regional retail chains, grocery stores, mass merchants, nurseries, and online/eCommerce channels.
The Pet segment is the larger of the two by revenue contribution, reflecting the companys heavy exposure to the broad pet care category, an industry where premiumization, humanization of pets, and growing pet ownership have historically supported volume and pricing. Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Central Garden & Pet has grown largely through bolt-on acquisitions, a strategy common in the fragmented household and lawn/garden products sub-industry, allowing it to extend brand depth, expand shelf space with mass retailers, and broaden its multi-category offerings to retail partners. The company trades as a mid-cap stock within the Consumer Staples sector and has been publicly listed since 1993.
- Pet segment organic revenue growth offsets weather-exposed Garden sales
- Raw material and freight cost inflation pressures consolidated gross margins
- Acquisitions of pet brands expand portfolio and drive market share gains
| Net Income: 171.5m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue |
| FCF/TA: 0.08 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA -1.64 > 1.0 |
| NWC/Revenue: 46.88% < 20% (prev 43.65%; Δ 3.22% < -1%) |
| CFO/TA 0.09 > 3% & CFO 328.3m > Net Income 171.5m |
| Net Debt (974.9m) to EBITDA (367.9m): 2.65 < 3 |
| Current Ratio: 3.45 > 1.5 & < 3 |
| Outstanding Shares: last quarter (61.9m) vs 12m ago -4.53% < -2% |
| Gross Margin: 32.21% > 18% (prev 30.00%; Δ 2.21% > 0.5%) |
| Asset Turnover: 85.76% > 50% (prev 86.95%; Δ -1.18% > 0%) |
| Interest Coverage Ratio: 4.96 > 6 (EBIT TTM 284.2m / Interest Expense TTM 57.3m) |
| A: 0.40 (Total Current Assets 2.09b - Total Current Liabilities 605.2m) / Total Assets 3.75b |
| B: 0.29 (Retained Earnings 1.09b / Total Assets 3.75b) |
| C: 0.08 (EBIT TTM 284.2m / Avg Total Assets 3.69b) |
| D: 0.79 (Book Value of Equity 1.65b / Total Liabilities 2.09b) |
| Altman-Z'' = 4.89 = AA |
| DSRI: 1.04 (Receivables 603.2m/578.9m, Revenue 3.16b/3.16b) |
| GMI: 0.93 (GM 30.00% / 32.21%) |
| AQI: 0.99 (AQ_t 0.29 / AQ_t-1 0.30) |
| SGI: 1.00 (Revenue 3.16b / 3.16b) |
| TATA: -0.04 (NI 171.5m - CFO 328.3m) / TA 3.75b) |
| Beneish M = -3.06 (Cap -4..+1) = AA |
As of July 13, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 37.53 with a total of 175,804 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by -2.34%, over one month by -0.64%, over three months by +11.23% and over the past year by +2.77%.
Current recommended Stop Loss: 34.60 (which is 7.8% or 2.4 ATR below the current price).
Central Garden & Pet has received a consensus analysts rating of 4.00. Therefore, it is recommended to buy CENTA.
- StrongBuy: 3
- Buy: 1
- Hold: 3
- Sell: 0
- StrongSell: 0
| Analysts Target Price | 43.5 | 15.9% |
P/E Trailing = 13.6109
P/E Forward = 11.6009
P/S = 0.7405
P/B = 1.4559
P/EG = 1.866
Revenue TTM = 3.16b USD
EBIT TTM = 284.2m USD
EBITDA TTM = 367.9m USD
Long Term Debt = 1.19b USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 51.6m USD (from shortTermDebt, last quarter)
Debt = 1.64b USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter) + Leases 225.9m
Net Debt = 974.9m USD (calculated: Debt 1.64b - CCE 669.4m)
Enterprise Value = 3.32b USD (2.34b + Debt 1.64b - CCE 669.4m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 4.96 (Ebit TTM 284.2m / Interest Expense TTM 57.3m)
EV/FCF = 11.74x (Enterprise Value 3.32b / FCF TTM 282.4m)
FCF Yield = 8.51% (FCF TTM 282.4m / Enterprise Value 3.32b)
FCF Margin = 8.93% (FCF TTM 282.4m / Revenue TTM 3.16b)
Net Margin = 5.42% (Net Income TTM 171.5m / Revenue TTM 3.16b)
Gross Margin = 32.21% ((Revenue TTM 3.16b - Cost of Revenue TTM 2.14b) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 33.06% (prev 30.87%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 0.89 (Enterprise Value 3.32b / Total Assets 3.75b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 3.48% (Interest Expense 57.3m / Debt 1.64b)
Taxrate = 24.30% (55.1m / 226.9m)
NOPAT = 215.2m (EBIT 284.2m * (1 - 24.30%))
Current Ratio = 3.45 (Total Current Assets 2.09b / Total Current Liabilities 605.2m)
Debt / Equity = 1.00 (Debt 1.64b / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 1.65b)
Debt / EBITDA = 2.65 (Net Debt 974.9m / EBITDA 367.9m)
Debt / FCF = 3.45 (Net Debt 974.9m / FCF TTM 282.4m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 1.60b (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 4.65% (Net Income 171.5m / Total Assets 3.75b)
RoE = 10.72% (Net Income TTM 171.5m / Total Stockholder Equity 1.60b)
RoCE = 10.18% (EBIT 284.2m / Capital Employed (Equity 1.60b + L.T.Debt 1.19b))
RoIC = 7.09% (NOPAT 215.2m / Invested Capital 3.03b)
WACC = 5.08% (E(2.34b)/V(3.99b) * Re(6.80%) + D(1.64b)/V(3.99b) * Rd(3.48%) * (1-Tc(0.24)))
Discount Rate = 6.80% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: -51.11 | Cagr: 6.79%
[DCF] Terminal Value 73.10% ; FCFF base≈302.7m ; Y1≈265.4m ; Y5≈214.5m
[DCF] Fair Price = 48.08 (EV 3.44b - Net Debt 974.9m = Equity 2.47b / Shares 51.3m; r=8.35% [WACC [floored]]; 5y FCF grow -15.0% → 2.50% )
EPS Correlation: 89.50 | EPS CAGR: 13.23% | SUE: 2.68 | # QB: 6
Revenue Correlation: -88.42 | Revenue CAGR: -2.47% | SUE: 2.17 | # QB: 1
EPS current Quarter (2026-06-30): EPS=1.51 | Chg30d=-0.66% | Revisions=-25% | Analysts=5
EPS current Year (2026-09-30): EPS=2.97 | Chg30d=-0.34% | Revisions=-25% | GrowthEPS=+8.6% | GrowthRev=-2.7%
EPS next Year (2027-09-30): EPS=3.09 | Chg30d=-0.32% | Revisions=-25% | GrowthEPS=+4.0% | GrowthRev=-3.2%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: -50% (up=0, down=3)