Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS – Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the January 31st total of 1,050,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 352,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cintas

In other Cintas news, CAO Michael Lawrence Thompson sold 14,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.98, for a total value of $6,583,479.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,376,043.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO J. Michael Hansen sold 1,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.85, for a total value of $714,913.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 30,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,313,824.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael Lawrence Thompson sold 14,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.98, for a total transaction of $6,583,479.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,318 shares in the company, valued at $10,376,043.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cintas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 169.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.92% of the company’s stock.

Cintas Stock Up 0.6 %

CTAS stock opened at $444.59 on Tuesday. Cintas has a one year low of $343.86 and a one year high of $470.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $442.32 and a 200-day moving average of $430.82.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 21st. The business services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.03 by $0.09. Cintas had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 37.89%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cintas will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 14th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTAS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $435.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $373.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cintas from $393.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $495.00 to $530.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $490.00 to $507.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cintas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $476.10.

About Cintas

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Cintas Corp. engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms through rental and sales programs. It operates through the following segments: Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other. The Uniform Rental and Facility Services segment consists of the rental and servicing of uniforms and other garments including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items.