UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

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

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $200.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $191.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is an increase from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 67.7% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 255.1% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,700,000 after acquiring an additional 51,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at $471,000. 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.