Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Short Interest Down 9.4% in March

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) was the recipient of a large 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 daily trading volume, of 344,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Cintas by 117.7% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,943,000 after buying an additional 1,743 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,015,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,866,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 600,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $360,637,000 after acquiring an additional 85,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CTAS. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $680.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $526.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $629.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $660.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.21.

Cintas Stock Performance

CTAS traded up $3.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $669.97. 61,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,388. The firm has a market cap of $67.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.27. Cintas has a one year low of $438.59 and a one year high of $704.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $640.34 and its 200 day moving average is $584.89.

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

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 37.29%.

About Cintas

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.