Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.1667.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CTAS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cintas in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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.

Cintas Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $176.28 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $173.55 and its 200 day moving average is $184.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. Cintas has a fifty-two week low of $161.16 and a fifty-two week high of $226.75.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Cintas news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,273.76. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Cintas in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cintas by 1,712.5% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Cintas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.