Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.15 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, March 15th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%.
Cintas Beats Inflation With Operating Leverage
Cintas has raised its dividend by an average of 18.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 39 consecutive years. Cintas has a payout ratio of 32.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Cintas to earn $13.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.0%.
Cintas Price Performance
CTAS traded up $3.75 on Tuesday, reaching $445.06. 10,523 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,503. The stock has a market cap of $45.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.36. Cintas has a twelve month low of $343.86 and a twelve month high of $470.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $447.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.53.
Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 21st. The business services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 37.89%. Cintas’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cintas will post 12.68 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
CTAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $435.00 to $500.00 in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cintas from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $463.00 price target on shares of Cintas in a research note on Tuesday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $476.10.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Melanie W. Barstad sold 2,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.43, for a total transaction of $879,049.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,437.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 15.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cintas
A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Cintas by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Cintas by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Cintas by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 740 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Cintas by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 61.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Cintas Company Profile
Cintas Corporation provides 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.