Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.56 Per Share

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 1.56 per share by the business services provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35.

Cintas has increased its dividend by an average of 92.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 42 consecutive years. Cintas has a payout ratio of 33.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Cintas to earn $18.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.2%.

Cintas Price Performance

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $759.12 on Wednesday. Cintas has a 1 year low of $474.74 and a 1 year high of $773.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $724.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $678.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Shares of Cintas are set to split before the market opens on Thursday, September 12th. The 4-1 split was announced on Thursday, May 2nd. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, September 11th.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The business services provider reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.19. Cintas had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 37.82%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cintas will post 16.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cintas news, Director Gerald S. Adolph sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.72, for a total transaction of $842,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,083,425.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

Cintas declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Cintas from $775.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cintas from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cintas to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $742.36.

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.