Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Redburn Atlantic

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Redburn Atlantic from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $171.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Redburn Atlantic’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 19.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CTAS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Cintas in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cintas from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cintas from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.88.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of Cintas stock opened at $211.55 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $202.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Cintas has a 52 week low of $164.93 and a 52 week high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 40.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 8,521 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.96, for a total transaction of $1,780,548.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,029 shares in the company, valued at $5,647,979.84. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.37, for a total value of $380,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 256,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,835,235.36. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cintas

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 340.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,089,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,312,000 after purchasing an additional 841,952 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 299.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Cintas by 294.2% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 339.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after buying an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Cintas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

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.