UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Short Interest Down 16.9% in February

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,100 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the January 31st total of 166,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 117,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

UniFirst Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of UniFirst stock traded up $3.51 on Wednesday, reaching $210.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 85,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,774. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $209.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.37. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.90%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 16.6% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 21,553 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 164.2% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 20.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 111,928 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $22,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.