Cintas Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 29th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.39 per share by the business services provider on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

Cintas has increased its dividend payment 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 dividend payout ratio of 33.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Cintas to earn $4.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.7%.

Cintas Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ CTAS opened at $223.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $220.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.58. The stock has a market cap of $90.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.47, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 1.32. Cintas has a twelve month low of $135.07 and a twelve month high of $227.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The business services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. Cintas had a net margin of 16.80% and a return on equity of 39.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Cintas will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CTAS shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $166.75 to $199.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Cintas from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Baird R W lowered Cintas from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Cintas from $181.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.63.

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.