Michael A. Croatti Sells 1,800 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,747 shares in the company, valued at $971,243. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $171.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.20. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.27%.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

About UniFirst

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.