Brokerages Set Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) Target Price at $215.17

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

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CTAS. Argus raised Cintas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on Cintas from $181.00 to $160.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Cintas from $222.00 to $190.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th.

Cintas Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $174.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $69.63 billion, a PE ratio of 49.16, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $184.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.50. Cintas has a 52-week low of $165.60 and a 52-week high of $229.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.98.

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

Cintas Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 4,666 shares of Cintas stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.87, for a total value of $834,607.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,015,273.76. The trade was a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 14.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Cintas by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 99,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,501,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cintas by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 413,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,909,000 after purchasing an additional 10,249 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,994,594,000 after purchasing an additional 564,487 shares during the last quarter. Prana Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Cintas during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,312,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Cintas during the 4th quarter worth about $15,736,000. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cintas

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.