Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,190,000 shares, a drop of 18.0% from the September 15th total of 7,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 125,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 15.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fruth Investment Management increased its holdings in Cintas by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 17,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,616,000 after buying an additional 13,173 shares in the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 454.3% in the third quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,807 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Cintas by 356.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 88,354 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,190,000 after acquiring an additional 69,003 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 283.4% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,338 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 308.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,975 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Cintas from $730.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Cintas in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $167.50 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $184.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $199.63.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $208.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,347,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,670. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $212.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.53. Cintas has a fifty-two week low of $123.65 and a fifty-two week high of $211.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.32.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 39.56% and a net margin of 16.80%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.70 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cintas will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Cintas's payout ratio is 10.77%.

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.