UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

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

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $177.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $192.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.75. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $208.20.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 291.6% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the second quarter worth about $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.