Today’s Featured Stock
Valued at $2.6 billion, Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) is a leading marketer and producer of premium branded lawn, garden, and pet supplies in the United States. The consumer products anchor segments its operational pipeline through diversified commercial footprints ranging from backyard wild bird feeds and equine care grants to specialized rural insect control and backyard garden solutions.
What I’m Watching
I found today’s Chart of the Day by using Barchart’s powerful screening functions to sort for stocks with notably improving technicals, a combination of momentum, strength, and direction. I then used Barchart’s Flipcharts feature to review the charts for timely opportunities. CENT checks those boxes.
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CENT has staged a solid multi-month advance off of what was arguably a quadruple bottom around $29 a share. Its 20-day exponential moving average has converted into an absolute launchpad for price action, signaling a powerful “Strongest” Direction rating. The Price Oscillator (PPO) might be the chart’s best feature, having recently crossed into positive territory, but well off its typical cycle peak.After a very shallow consolidation that would not have prompted it to hit my radar, the visual staircase pattern in CENT’s chart indicates that weak-handed selling has likely dried up.
www.barchart.comBarchart Technical Indicators for Central Garden & Pet
Editor’s Note: The technical indicators below are updated live during the session every 20 minutes and can therefore change each day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com website when you read this report.
100% Buy Barchart Opinion: The aggregate tracking metric is locked into a top-tier “Buy” alignment. Trend Seeker Status: The system maintains a “Buy” signal, initially generated back on May 7. The next logical upside target is around $48. That is just above the stock’s past five-year high, but below its all-time high around $50.Don’t Forget the Fundamentals
$2.6 billion market capitalization. 14x trailing price-earnings ratio, presenting a heavily compressed valuation multiple in a market starved for good growth at a reasonable price (GARP) stocks with price upside. 0.83x price-sales, an extremely attractive valuation. 0.72x debt-equity ratio, indicating a healthy going-forward financial condition as interest rates continue to move higher. 0.63 60-month beta, highlighting above-average, low-beta protection for volatile markets.Analyst and Investor Sentiment on CENT
Wall Street Analysts: A consensus of 5 analysts surveyed by Barchart and Public rate CENT a “Moderate Buy,” with 3 firms issuing “Strong Buy” ratings. Price Targets: 12-month targets range from a conservative low of $32.00 to a high of $54.00, pushing the average consensus target to $46.50.The Bottom Line on CENT
Central Garden & Pet is demonstrating textbook structural technical health, indicating that the long-term institutional buying interest remains fully in command of the tape. Backed by an impressive $1.29 EPS quarterly print and highly resilient consumer discretionary cash flows, the equity’s low beta of 0.63 provides a perfectly insulated bunker for capital.
On the date of publication, Jim Van Meerten did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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