UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz Sells 1,299 Shares

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

UniFirst Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:UNF opened at $209.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $205.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. 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 paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on UNF shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.