Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) to Buyback $1.00 billion in Stock

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $629.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Cintas in a research note on Monday, April 1st. 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. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Cintas from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $725.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $790.00 to $874.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $749.00.

Cintas Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Cintas stock traded down $1.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $754.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 585,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,690. Cintas has a 1-year low of $474.74 and a 1-year high of $773.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $704.49 and a 200 day moving average of $661.57. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 52.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas shares are going to split 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 market closes on Wednesday, September 11th.

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

Cintas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.56 per share. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Cintas’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.29%.

Insider Activity at Cintas

In related news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 2,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $693.95, for a total transaction of $1,589,839.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,618,237.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ronald W. Tysoe sold 2,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $693.95, for a total value of $1,589,839.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,618,237.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jim Rozakis sold 1,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $693.71, for a total transaction of $914,309.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 59,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,463,046.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 15.10% of the company’s stock.

About Cintas

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.