UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Short Interest Update

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 144,100 shares, a decline of 22.0% from the December 31st total of 184,700 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 116,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF traded down $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $214.35. The stock had a trading volume of 86,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,574. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $200.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.96. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Company Profile

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.