Central Garden & Pet Co (NASDAQ: CENT)

Sector: Consumer Defensive Industry: Packaged Foods CIK: 0000887733
Market Cap 2.41 Bn
P/B 1.53
P/E 15.51
P/S 0.78
ROIC (Qtr) 6.07
Div Yield % 0.00
Rev 1y % (Qtr) -5.95
Total Debt (Qtr) 1.43 Bn
Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.91
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About

Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) is a prominent player in the pet and garden industries within the United States. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment encompasses a wide range of products, including dog and cat supplies, aquatics, small animals, reptiles, pet birds, and live fish. On the other hand, the Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass seed, wild bird feed, and herbicides. Central Garden & Pet's main business activities revolve around manufacturing and distributing...

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Investment thesis

Bull case

  • Healthy cash reserves of 737.24M provide 13.93x coverage of short-term debt 52.91M, demonstrating strong liquidity position and minimal refinancing risk.
  • Operating cash flow of 331.12M provides exceptional 342.77x coverage of minority interest expenses 966000, showing strong core operations.
  • Operating cash flow of 331.12M provides strong 16.25x coverage of stock compensation 20.38M, indicating sustainable incentive practices.
  • Robust free cash flow of 284.99M exceeds capital expenditure of 46.13M by 6.18x, indicating strong organic growth funding capability.
  • Cash position of 737.24M provides exceptional 763.19x coverage of minority interest expenses 966000, indicating strong liquidity.

Bear case

  • Operating cash flow of 331.12M barely covers its investment activities of (103.28M), with a coverage ratio of -3.21, indicating heavy reliance on external financing for growth which may not be sustainable in a tighter credit environment.
  • Cash reserves of 737.24M provide limited coverage of acquisition spending of (57M), which is -12.93x, suggesting aggressive expansion might strain liquidity if market conditions deteriorate.
  • Operating earnings of 263.93M show weak coverage of depreciation charges of 143.79M, with a 1.84 ratio indicating high capital intensity and potential reinvestment needs.
  • Free cash flow of 284.99M represents just -114.18x of debt issuance (2.50M), suggesting concerning reliance on leverage rather than internal cash generation for growth.
  • High depreciation of 143.79M relative to operating cash flow of 331.12M, which is 0.43x suggests significant maintenance capital requirements affecting free cash flow.

Product and Service Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Segments Breakdown of Revenue (2025)

Peer comparison

Companies in the Packaged Foods
S.No. Ticker Company Market Cap P/E P/S Total Debt (Qtr)
1 KHC Kraft Heinz Co 28.20 Bn -4.82 1.13 21.22 Bn
2 GIS General Mills Inc 26.99 Bn 20.72 1.54 13.73 Bn
3 JBS Jbs N.V. 17.81 Bn 10.08 0.23 23.92 Bn
4 MKC Mccormick & Co Inc 16.10 Bn 44.21 3.77 4.00 Bn
5 HRL Hormel Foods Corp /De/ 12.37 Bn 18.03 1.34 2.86 Bn
6 SJM J M SMUCKER Co 11.08 Bn 19.60 1.97 7.91 Bn
7 PPC Pilgrims Pride Corp 10.32 Bn 9.54 0.56 3.29 Bn
8 MICC Magnum Ice Cream Co N.V. 9.71 Bn 28.17 1.04 4.02 Bn

Industry comparisons

Current Valuation Value Ind Avg Percentile
EV to Assets EV to Assets 0.81 1.47
EV to Cash from Ops. EV/CFO 8.93 29.75
EV to Debt EV to Debt 2.07 27.85
EV to EBIT EV/EBIT 11.20 86.88
EV to EBITDA EV/EBITDA 7.73 -156.20
EV to Free Cash Flow [EV/FCF] EV/FCF 10.37 -5.67
EV to Market Cap EV to Market Cap 1.22 1.15
EV to Revenue EV/Rev 0.96 7.32
Price to Book Value [P/B] P/B 1.53 8.48
Price to Earnings [P/E] P/E 15.51 14.45
Dividend Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Dividend Coverage Ratio Dividend Coverage Ratio 0.00 4.58
Dividend Payout Ratio % Div Payout % (Qtr) 0.00 3.76
Dividend per Basic Share Div per Share (Qtr) 0.00 0.65
FCF Dividend Payout Ratio % FCF Div Payout % (Qtr) 0.00 22.76
Interest Coverage Int. cover (Qtr) 4.57 6.64
Growth Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Capex Growth (1y) % Capex 1y % (Qtr) -17.96 -118.07
Cash and Equivalents Growth (1y) % Cash & Equiv 1y % (Qtr) 16.53 43.48
Dividend Growth (1y) % Dividend Growth (1y) % 0.00 0.66
EBIAT Growth (1y) % EBIAT 1y % (Qtr) 20.47 -48.16
EBITDA Growth (1y) % EBITDA 1y % (Qtr) 8.11 -152.35
EBIT Growth (1y) % EBIT 1y % (Qtr) 21.30 -50.79
EBT Growth (1y) % EBT 1y % (Qtr) 28.94 -54.94
EPS Growth (1y) % EPS 1y % (Qtr) 35.33 -28.10
FCF Growth (1y) % FCF 1y % (Qtr) -20.11 7.02
Gross Profit Growth (1y) % Gross Profit 1y % (Qtr) 3.30 439.70
Liquidity Ratios Value Ind Avg Percentile
Asset Utilization Ratio Asset Util Ratio (Qtr) 0.85 1.01
Cash Payout Ratio Cash Payout (Qtr) 0.00 0.12
Cash Ratio Cash Ratio (Qtr) 1.28 0.86
Current Ratio Curr Ratio (Qtr) 3.43 2.60
Debt to Equity Ratio Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.91 2.21
Interest Cover Ratio Int Coverage (Qtr) 4.57 6.64
Times Interest Earned Times Interest Earned (Qtr) 4.57 6.64
Profitability Value Ind Avg Percentile
EBITDA Margin % EBITDA Margin % (Qtr) 13.20 -919.13
EBIT Margin % EBIT Margin % (Qtr) 8.54 -1,474.87
EBT Margin % EBT Margin % (Qtr) 6.67 -1,537.76
Gross Margin % Gross Margin % (Qtr) 32.10 26.98
Net Profit Margin % Net Margin % (Qtr) 5.00 -1,538.60