Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a drop of 9.4% from the March 15th total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 344,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cintas Stock Up 0.3 %

CTAS opened at $666.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $67.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $640.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $584.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Cintas has a 12 month low of $438.59 and a 12 month high of $704.84.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The business services provider reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 15.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Cintas will post 14.96 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 221.1% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 61 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 49 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 33.9% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cintas in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CTAS. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cintas from $680.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Cintas from $526.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Cintas from $700.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Cintas from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.21.

Cintas Company Profile

Cintas Corporation provides 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.