Short Interest in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Drops By 20.1%

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,860,000 shares, a decrease of 20.1% from the February 13th total of 4,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,950,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cintas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.79.

Cintas Stock Up 1.5 %

CTAS stock traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $196.31. 820,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,616. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $200.31 and its 200-day moving average is $209.11. The company has a market cap of $79.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.33, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Cintas has a 12 month low of $155.89 and a 12 month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cintas will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Cintas’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cintas

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTAS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Cintas by 299.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after purchasing an additional 10,910,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 297.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cintas by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,544,822,000 after purchasing an additional 219,809 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Cintas by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $935,146,000 after purchasing an additional 296,059 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Cintas during the fourth quarter worth about $877,216,000. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

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.