UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Hits New 12-Month High at $187.93

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $187.93 and last traded at $187.39, with a volume of 93479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.28.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.31. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $603.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.97 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.27%.

Insider Activity

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total value of $40,650.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,822.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total value of $1,746,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,898,081.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total value of $40,650.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $728,822.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,808 shares of company stock worth $4,535,782 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 825 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.