ASHLAND INC. vs Central Garden & Pet Company, two Wholesale stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where ASH and CENT diverge most: on return on assets, ASH reads 1.1% and CENT reads 4.4%; on p/e, ASH reads 56.0 and CENT reads 15.2. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What CENT's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | ASH | CENT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $70.59 | $40.65 |
| Market cap | $3.2B | $2.5B |
| Sector | Wholesale | Wholesale |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| P/E | 56.0 | 15.2 |
| P/B | 1.74 | 1.44 |
| P/S | 1.76 | 0.82 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.8 | 8.2 |
| Revenue growth | -1.3% | -1.0% |
| Gross margin | 34.2% | 35.9% |
| Operating margin | 8.7% | 14.3% |
| Net margin | 2.8% | 5.4% |
| Return on equity | 2.7% | 9.5% |
| Return on assets | 1.1% | 4.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 3.1% | 6.4% |
| FCF yield | 11.6% | 13.7% |
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.73 | 0.68 |
| Current ratio | 3.05 | 3.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 6.66 | 7.86 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 7 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.