Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 4,373 Shares of Cintas Corporation $CTAS

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 89.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cintas were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cintas during the second quarter worth approximately $925,531,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,948,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,994,594,000 after acquiring an additional 564,487 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cintas by 264.9% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 776,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,956,000 after acquiring an additional 563,366 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,911,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,596,000 after acquiring an additional 495,486 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 246.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 567,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $126,466,000 after acquiring an additional 403,555 shares during the period. 63.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Cintas

Here are the key news stories impacting Cintas this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cintas agreed to acquire UniFirst for $310 per share in a deal valuing the target at roughly $5.5B; management projects roughly $375M of annual cost synergies as the companies combine routes, facilities and purchasing power — a clear long‑term earnings/scale rationale. Cintas to Acquire UniFirst in $5.5 Billion Transaction
• Positive Sentiment: Large UniFirst shareholders and activists have signaled support for a sale, and Engine Capital publicly called the deal the right transaction — reducing activist/closing risk and improving odds the merger completes. Engine Capital Issues Statement Regarding Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support is rising: Robert W. Baird upgraded CTAS to outperform with a $250 price target and Truist issued a buy — both signal confidence the deal and Cintas’s growth story justify higher multiples (positive for sentiment and investor demand).
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors have access to granular M&A detail — a Seeking Alpha transcript of the M&A call is available for those modeling timing, integration assumptions and regulatory commentary. Cintas Corporation M&A Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings-season attention remains a background catalyst (investors will weigh the deal impact against Cintas’s organic execution and FY26 guidance). See the earnings event page for dates and estimates. Will Cintas (CTAS) beat quarterly earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced an investigation into UniFirst’s board over whether the sale provided fair value to UNF shareholders — potential litigation or proxy conflict could slow closing or change terms. SHAREHOLDER NOTICE: Brodsky & Smith Announces an Investigation of UniFirst
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data show elevated short positions as of late February (~8.19M shares; ~2.4% of float, ~4.8 days to cover), which raises the risk of bearish pressure or volatility while the deal and integration risks are digested.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction was mixed on the announcement (UniFirst shares jumped; Cintas initially dipped on the cash/stock mix and near-term execution costs), underscoring short-term skepticism even if long-term synergies are credible. Cintas (CTAS) Closes $5.5B Acquisition of Uniform Rival UniFirst (UNF)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTAS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cintas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Cintas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $181.00 target price (up from $176.00) on shares of Cintas in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cintas from a “cautious” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $205.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cintas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.25.

Cintas Price Performance

Cintas stock opened at $198.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.71. Cintas Corporation has a 52 week low of $180.39 and a 52 week high of $229.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $194.87 and a 200-day moving average of $193.60.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Cintas had a return on equity of 41.07% and a net margin of 17.58%.Cintas’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. Cintas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.810-4.880 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cintas Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is 52.48%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) is a provider of business services and products focused on workplace appearance, safety and facility maintenance. The company is best known for its uniform rental and corporate apparel programs, which include rental, leasing and direct-purchase options, laundering and garment repair. Cintas markets its services to a wide range of end-users, including manufacturing, food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail and government customers.

Beyond uniforms, Cintas offers a suite of facility services and products designed to help organizations maintain clean, safe and compliant workplaces.