Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.1667.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTAS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 14.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTAS. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 413,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,909,000 after purchasing an additional 10,249 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Cintas during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,312,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cintas by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,994,594,000 after acquiring an additional 564,487 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $15,736,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 2.3% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 150,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock opened at $172.20 on Wednesday. Cintas has a 1 year low of $161.16 and a 1 year high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $68.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $176.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.53.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. Cintas had a net margin of 17.57% and a return on equity of 41.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Cintas will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Cintas’s payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.