UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Shares Gap Up to $154.47

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $154.47, but opened at $165.36. UniFirst shares last traded at $173.54, with a volume of 48,179 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.25.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The company had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.27%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 68,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,600,714.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 68,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,600,714.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $971,243. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,033 shares of company stock valued at $4,398,882. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the third quarter worth $99,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.