CINTAS CORP. $48 - Nasdaq symbol CTAS

CINTAS CORP. $48 (Nasdaq symbol CTAS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 122.3 million; Market cap: $5.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cintas- .com) designs and makes uniforms, which it sells to over 900,000 businesses, mainly in North America. It also offers related services, including office cleaning and document shredding.

In its 2013 fiscal year, which ended May 31, 2013, Cintas’s sales rose 5.2%, to a record $4.3 billion from $4.1 billion a year earlier. Sales at the uniform business, which supplied 71% of Cintas’s overall revenue, rose 4.5%, while sales at its other divisions (29% of the total) gained 6.9%. Earnings increased 6.0%, to $315.4 million from $297.6 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 11.0%, to $2.52 from $2.27.

The stock trades at a reasonable 17.7 times the $2.71 a share that Cintas will probably earn in fiscal 2014.

Cintas is a buy.


A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.