Short Interest in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Expands By 7.8%

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,940,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the November 30th total of 5,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cintas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Cintas in the second quarter worth $500,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 21.2% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Cintas in the second quarter worth $435,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Cintas by 7.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 21.7% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CTAS shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Cintas from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.46.

Cintas Trading Down 0.5 %

Cintas stock opened at $182.70 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Cintas has a 12 month low of $143.64 and a 12 month high of $228.12. The stock has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.33.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.61 EPS. Cintas’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cintas will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Cintas Company Profile

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.