Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cintas by 195.9% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Davis Rea LTD. grew its position in Cintas by 68.5% during the third quarter. Davis Rea LTD. now owns 8,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 3,253 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Cintas by 305.1% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Cintas by 309.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.63.

Cintas Stock Performance

Cintas stock traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $206.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 88,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,047. The firm has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas Co. has a twelve month low of $125.62 and a twelve month high of $215.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $217.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. Cintas’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Cintas Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.77%.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cintas Company Profile

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.