Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $199.63.

CTAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W cut shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Cintas in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $167.50 price objective for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total value of $842,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,206,969,000 after buying an additional 112,361 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 0.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 780,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,471 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.3% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 638,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $438,402,000 after acquiring an additional 37,727 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Cintas by 3,302.1% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 501,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,194,000 after purchasing an additional 486,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Cintas by 21.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 387,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,323,000 after purchasing an additional 67,440 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cintas Trading Down 0.4 %

Cintas stock opened at $204.55 on Friday. Cintas has a 12-month low of $119.86 and a 12-month high of $211.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.32.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cintas will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 10.77%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.