UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP Sells $274,024.05 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

UniFirst Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of UNF traded up $4.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $215.37. 29,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 158,780. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.37.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised 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 raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,576,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,270,000. Ulysses Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,318,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 76,742 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $13,130,000 after purchasing an additional 45,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.