Central Garden & Pet Co.

Company Description

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and sells branded products for the lawn and garden and pet supplies market. The company sells its products through mass merchants and specialty retailers nationwide and has a market cap of $695 million.

Central Garden reported solid second-quarter results on May 6 that were ahead of expectations. Sales were down marginally from last year, coming in at $476 million, but earnings were ahead of estimates, coming in at 47 cents against the expected 31. Net income was up to $33 million from $20.4 million last year.

Segment Results

The company's Garden Products revenue was down 2% from last year to $248 million. The company's Pet Products were down 1% from last year to $229 million. The sales numbers might not seem overwhelming strong, but keep in mind how consumer spending has contracted in the last year.

Estimates Jump

Analysts were quick to upgrade their earnings projections after the solid quarter, with the current-year estimate jumping 9 cents to 65 cents per share. The next-year estimate is up 14 cents to 78 cent, a 21% earnings growth projection.

The Chart

Shares of CENT have been rallying for most of the last 5 months after bottoming out around $2.50 in late November. Since then, this stock has topped the $10 mark along a very steady trend line. Take a look below.

Read the full analyst report on CENT