StockNews.com Downgrades UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Separately, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $200.87 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.19. UniFirst has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $208.20. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.02%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 60.5% in 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. Quarry LP increased its position 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 16.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 291.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter worth approximately $92,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.