Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) & Brink’s (NYSE:BCO) Head-To-Head Analysis

Brink’s (NYSE:BCO) and Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Brink’s and Cintas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brink’s	3.30%	87.18%	4.95%
Cintas	17.82%	42.57%	20.07%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.0% of Brink’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.5% of Cintas shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Brink’s shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.4% of Cintas shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Brink’s pays an annual dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cintas pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Brink’s pays out 23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cintas pays out 41.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Brink’s has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Cintas has raised its dividend for 42 consecutive years. Cintas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Brink’s and Cintas, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brink’s	0	1	2	0	2.67
Cintas	1	6	10	0	2.53

Brink’s presently has a consensus target price of $154.00, indicating a potential upside of 38.73%. Cintas has a consensus target price of $218.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.29%. Given Brink’s’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Brink’s is more favorable than Cintas.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Brink’s and Cintas”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brink’s	$5.26 billion	0.87	$199.70 million	$4.32	25.70
Cintas	$11.26 billion	7.96	$2.00 billion	$5.07	44.56

Cintas has higher revenue and earnings than Brink’s. Brink’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cintas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Brink’s has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cintas has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cintas beats Brink’s on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brink’s

The Brink’s Co. engages in providing cash management services, digital retail solutions, and ATM managed services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Latin America, Europe, and Rest of World. The North America segment operates in the U.S. and Canada. The Latin America segment refers to the operations in Latin American countries. The Europe segment relates to operations in European countries. The Rest of World segment focuses on the operations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company was founded by Perry Brink and Fidelia Brink on May 5, 1859 and is headquartered in Richmond, VA.

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. In addition, the company offers first aid and safety services, and fire protection products and services. It provides its products and services through its distribution network and local delivery routes, or local representatives to small service and manufacturing companies, as well as major corporations. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cintas Corporation was formerly a subsidiary of Cintas Corporation.