Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Cintas Put Options (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 4,478 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 124% compared to the typical volume of 1,996 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cintas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cintas by 9.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,286,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cintas by 119.6% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Cintas in the second quarter valued at approximately $349,000. &PARTNERS increased its position in Cintas by 41.9% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Cintas during the second quarter worth approximately $323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CTAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on 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 lifted their price target on shares of Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.77.

Cintas Stock Performance

Shares of CTAS opened at $182.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.86. The firm has a market cap of $73.72 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.33. Cintas has a 12-month low of $138.39 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.61 EPS. Cintas’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cintas will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

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.