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

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) was the target of a large drop in short interest during 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. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 116,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.50.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE:UNF traded down $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $214.35. 86,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,574. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $200.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that UniFirst will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 in the last 90 days. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,924 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.