Cintas

CTAS · NASDAQ

$217.03+$4.73 (+2.23%)TodayMarket closed · Oct 20, 7:55 PM ET

Prev close $212.30

CTAS analyst rating

HoldConsensus of 11 analysts over the last 12 months. 55% rate it a buy.

Strong buy0
Buy6
Hold4
Underperform0
Sell1

12-month price target · 19 analysts

Average $222.18 (+2.4% upside)

Low: $182.81
Now: $217.03
High: $262.50

Upgrades and downgrades

The latest rating actions, newest first

CTAS analyst upgrades, downgrades and rating actions
Firm	Date	Action	Rating	Price target	Hit rate
Citigroup	Sep 30, 2026	Maintains	Sell	$180.00 → $181.00	50%
Argus Research	Sep 29, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$230.00 → $240.00	65%
UBS	Sep 24, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$230.00 → $235.00	51%
Baird	Sep 24, 2026	Maintains	Outperform	$214.00 → $222.00	66%
Truist Securities	Sep 24, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$225.00 → $230.00	63%
RBC Capital	Sep 24, 2026	Maintains	Sector Perform	$206.00	64%
Citigroup	Sep 22, 2026	Maintains	Sell	$175.00 → $180.00	50%
Argus Research	Jul 17, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$220.00 → $230.00	65%
UBS	Jul 16, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$228.00 → $230.00	51%
Wells Fargo	Jul 16, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$245.00 → $250.00	46%

The case for and against

Updated Oct 17, 2026

Bull case

Cintas is attractive fundamentally because it delivers a mission-critical outsourcing platform with sticky, recurring demand across uniforms, first aid, fire protection, and facility services, which supports historically high customer retention and resilient performance across economic cycles. Organic revenue growth accelerated to 8.9% in 1Q27, total revenue rose 10.9% to $3.01 billion, and broad-based volume gains across all four segments showed that new business, cross-sell, and retention are doing most of the work rather than price. The business is also translating that growth into strong profitability, with 1Q27 gross margin at an all-time high of 51.5%, operating margin at 23.6%, and FY27 incremental margin guidance raised to 32%–34%, while the pending UNF acquisition adds another catalyst.

Bear case

Cintas is viewed negatively because peak employment and broader macro weakness could slow topline growth, while worse-than-expected volumes and retention could pressure the company’s route-based, recurring-revenue model. Although management has historically guided conservatively and operating leverage, vertical integration, and scale support modest margin expansion, higher energy costs still create a ~20bps operating margin headwind in updated FY27 guidance because fuel is not passed through to customers. The thesis also faces downside if incremental margin performance disappoints, smaller buybacks reduce earnings support, or valuation remains elevated despite risks from inflation, competitive intensity, and potential delays around UniFirst.

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