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

Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 4,478 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 124% compared to the average daily volume of 1,996 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cintas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTAS. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Cintas by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cintas by 0.5% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,034,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its stake in Cintas by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cintas by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in Cintas by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cintas from $212.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cintas from $219.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Cintas from $212.50 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Cintas from $194.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cintas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.77.

Cintas Trading Down 10.6 %

Shares of CTAS stock opened at $182.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.86. Cintas has a 1-year low of $138.39 and a 1-year high of $228.12. The company has a market cap of $73.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.16, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cintas will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.85%. Cintas’s payout ratio is currently 39.39%.

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.