Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Short Interest Down 9.4% in March

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a drop of 9.4% from the March 15th total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 344,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Cintas by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 740 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Cintas by 84.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Cintas by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,472 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,410,000 after acquiring an additional 4,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cintas from $680.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cintas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $660.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $629.00 to $726.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Cintas from $673.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $661.21.

Cintas Stock Up 0.5 %

CTAS stock traded up $3.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $669.97. The company had a trading volume of 61,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,388. The company has a market capitalization of $67.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.43, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $640.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $584.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Cintas has a 1 year low of $438.59 and a 1 year high of $704.84.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The business services provider reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cintas will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.29%.

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.