UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

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

UniFirst Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:UNF opened at $202.84 on Thursday. UniFirst has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $208.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.69.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. 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 payout ratio is currently 18.02%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, 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 transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. The trade was a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 67.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted 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 acquiring an additional 3,263 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $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 worth about $471,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.