Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) AI Stock Analysis

Central Garden & Pet Company operates across two primary segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides pet treats, toys, bedding, grooming products, and health supplies for dogs, cats, small animals, reptiles, birds, and aquatic pets under brands such as Aqueon, Kaytee, Nylabone, and Zilla. This segment also covers equine, livestock, outdoor cushions, and insect control solutions. The Garden segment supplies grass seed, vegetable and flower seeds, bird feeders, fertilizers, live plants, and decorative items. It offers pest and weed control products under brands including AMDRO, Ferry-Morse, and Sevin to retail customers nationwide.

Central Garden & Pet's revenue grew from $3.30B in FY2021 to $3.34B in FY2022, before decreasing to $3.31B in FY2023, $3.20B in FY2024, and $3.13B in FY2025, reflecting a 5-year revenue CAGR of 3.0%. Net margin shifted from 4.6% in FY2021 to 3.4% in FY2024, rebounding to 5.2% in FY2025 as net income reached $162.8M. EPS was $2.65 in FY2025, up from $2.13 in FY2024. For the latest quarter ended June 30, 2026, quarterly revenue fell 8.2% year-over-year, while quarterly earnings fell 4.6% year-over-year. Trailing twelve month revenue reached $3.08B with an operating margin of 14.3%.

As of June 30, 2026, Central Garden & Pet held $996.7M in cash and short-term investments against total debt of $1.41B, resulting in net debt of $411.9M. The balance sheet shows shareholders' equity of $1.75B, total assets of $3.79B, a current ratio of 3.79, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. In FY2025, operating cash flow stood at $332.5M and free cash flow reached $291.1M. Capital allocation in FY2025 included capital expenditures of $41.4M and share buybacks of $155.1M.

At a share price of $42.04, Central Garden & Pet trades at a trailing P/E of 15.6x and a forward P/E of 12.2x, below the median of its US-listed Consumer Defensive peers at 18.6x and 14.3x, respectively. Its EV to EBITDA ratio is 7.3x compared to 11.7x for peer medians. Over the past year, the stock returned 40.7%, outpacing the S&P 500 return of 16.8%. However, over a 5-year period, its return of 8.7% trailed the S&P 500 gain of 83.0%.

Wall Street analysts maintain 3 Strong Buy, 1 Buy, and 1 Sell rating for Central Garden & Pet. The mean price target of $53.00 represents a 26.1% premium over the last close of $42.04. For the current fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, analysts estimate revenue of $3.01B and EPS of $2.97, reflecting 8.9% EPS growth. The company beat EPS estimates in each of the last 4 quarters, and its next earnings release is scheduled for November 23, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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