Wells Fargo & Company Raises Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Price Target to $191.00

by · The Markets Daily

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS – Free Report) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $184.00 to $191.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an underweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cintas from $850.00 to $210.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cintas from $197.50 to $218.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cintas from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $199.63.

Get Our Latest Research Report on CTAS

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $202.35 on Thursday. Cintas has a 12-month low of $119.69 and a 12-month high of $211.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. Cintas had a return on equity of 37.82% and a net margin of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cintas will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Cintas announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cintas Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.43, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 125,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTAS. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Cintas by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 82,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,641,000 after acquiring an additional 9,314 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cintas by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the second quarter worth approximately $2,008,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cintas in the second quarter worth approximately $8,454,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Cintas during the second quarter worth approximately $189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

About Cintas

(Get Free Report)

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.

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