Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $193.46, but opened at $204.54. Cintas shares last traded at $211.01, with a volume of 837,499 shares trading hands.

The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTAS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Cintas from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cintas from $185.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Cintas by 299.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after purchasing an additional 10,910,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Cintas by 297.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after buying an additional 6,571,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cintas by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,468,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,544,822,000 after purchasing an additional 219,809 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Cintas by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,118,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,146,000 after purchasing an additional 296,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cintas in the 4th quarter worth $877,216,000. 63.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cintas Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.41.

Cintas Company Profile

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.