Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CTAS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Cintas from a buy rating to a hold rating and upped their target price for the stock from $551.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Cintas from $630.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Cintas from $525.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cintas from $540.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Cintas from $526.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $649.60.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $687.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $620.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $567.53. The company has a market cap of $69.64 billion, a PE ratio of 49.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.27. Cintas has a 12-month low of $438.59 and a 12-month high of $704.84.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The business services provider reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 36.78% and a net margin of 15.57%. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cintas will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cintas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,299,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,206,969,000 after purchasing an additional 112,361 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Cintas by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,991,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,972,345,000 after acquiring an additional 46,864 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Cintas by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,782,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,880,122,000 after acquiring an additional 14,694 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Cintas by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,352,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,131,615,000 after buying an additional 123,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cintas by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $863,795,000 after buying an additional 41,237 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.