UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $206.05 and last traded at $203.91, with a volume of 10637 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $200.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.5 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.53. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 16.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew 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. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 60.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 291.6% during the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.