Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.46.

CTAS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cintas by 299.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after acquiring an additional 10,910,285 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Cintas by 297.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cintas by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,693,654,000 after buying an additional 6,235,052 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 264.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 308.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,522,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $519,419,000 after buying an additional 1,904,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $189.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.80, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.37. Cintas has a 12 month low of $145.91 and a 12 month high of $228.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $207.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.61 EPS. Cintas’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cintas will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.