Topic: How To Invest

Q: I’m looking at Central Garden & Pet as a growth stock. What do you think of the company? Thanks for all your advice!

Article Excerpt

A: Central Garden & Pet Co., $54.57, symbol CENT on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 11.3 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; www.central.com), provides a range of products to pet owners, and residential and commercial gardeners. Central’s more than 65 brands include Pennington, Nylabone, Kaytee, Amdro and Aqueon. Founded in 1980, the company has made several acquisitions over the years to grow both segments of its business. Most recently, on February 16, 2021, it completed the acquisition of Green Garden Products, a Massachusetts-based provider of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds, as well as seed starters and plant nutrients. It ships more than 250 million seed packets annually to customers across North America. Green Garden’s portfolio of brands includes Ferry-Morse Home Gardening, Jiffy Seed Starting, SUPERthrive Plant Nutrients, Livingston Seeds, Jiffy Hydro Hydroponics, McKenzie Seed, American Seed and NK Lawn and Garden. Central paid $532.0 million in cash for Green Garden, which is currently owned by Freeman & Spogli, a private equity firm with $4.4 billion in assets…