Short Interest in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Expands By 7.8%

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,940,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the November 30th total of 5,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cintas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTAS. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Cintas during the second quarter worth approximately $500,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 21.2% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Cintas during the second quarter worth approximately $435,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Cintas by 7.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 21.7% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CTAS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Cintas from $209.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.46.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTAS opened at $182.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.95. The company has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.33. Cintas has a 12-month low of $143.64 and a 12-month high of $228.12.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cintas will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Cintas’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.