Short Interest in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Declines By 22.0%

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Quarry LP increased its holdings in UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on UNF. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF traded down $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $214.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 86,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,574. The company’s 50-day moving average is $200.13 and its 200-day moving average is $192.96. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 7.63 earnings per share 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 $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.90%.

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.