Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $214.8571.

Several brokerages have recently commented on CTAS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $181.00 price objective (up previously from $176.00) on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Cintas from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Cintas from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $184.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Institutional Trading of Cintas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cintas in the second quarter valued at approximately $925,531,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Cintas by 5,641.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,016,671 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $208,682,000 after acquiring an additional 998,963 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 2,653.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,003,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,640,000 after acquiring an additional 966,597 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 275.2% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,123,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $230,556,000 after acquiring an additional 823,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 5,341.8% in the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 747,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $153,352,000 after purchasing an additional 733,380 shares during the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $194.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $186.98 and a 200-day moving average of $200.26. The company has a market cap of $77.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Cintas has a 52 week low of $180.39 and a 52 week high of $229.24.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. Cintas had a net margin of 17.58% and a return on equity of 41.07%. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Cintas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.810-4.880 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cintas will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.48%.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 28th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.