UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $235.60 and last traded at $235.60, with a volume of 29740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.51. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.02%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 291.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during 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 period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $301,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.