Cintas (CTAS) Competitors

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) and Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) are related large-cap companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Is CTAS or ADP a better dividend stock?

Cintas pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Automatic Data Processing pays an annual dividend of $6.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Cintas pays out 40.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Automatic Data Processing pays out 61.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cintas has increased its dividend for 42 consecutive years and Automatic Data Processing has increased its dividend for 49 consecutive years. Automatic Data Processing is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer CTAS or ADP?

In the previous week, Automatic Data Processing had 11 more articles in the media than Cintas. MarketBeat recorded 49 mentions for Automatic Data Processing and 38 mentions for Cintas. Cintas' average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Automatic Data Processing's score of 1.45 indicating that Cintas is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cintas	35 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Automatic Data Processing	36 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is CTAS or ADP more profitable?

Automatic Data Processing has a net margin of 19.84% compared to Cintas' net margin of 17.53%. Automatic Data Processing's return on equity of 72.84% beat Cintas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cintas	17.53%	41.21%	19.14%
Automatic Data Processing	19.84%	72.84%	7.33%

Which has better earnings & valuation, CTAS or ADP?

Automatic Data Processing has higher revenue and earnings than Cintas. Automatic Data Processing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cintas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cintas	$10.34B	8.40	$1.81B	$4.41	48.89
Automatic Data Processing	$20.56B	6.07	$4.08B	$9.98	30.86

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CTAS or ADP?

63.5% of Cintas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.0% of Automatic Data Processing shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.0% of Cintas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Automatic Data Processing shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend CTAS or ADP?

Cintas presently has a consensus target price of $224.54, suggesting a potential upside of 4.15%. Automatic Data Processing has a consensus target price of $317.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.94%. Given Cintas' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cintas is more favorable than Automatic Data Processing.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cintas	2 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Automatic Data Processing	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.17

Which has more risk and volatility, CTAS or ADP?

Cintas has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Automatic Data Processing has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cintas beats Automatic Data Processing on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.