UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Shares Up 4.1% After Strong Earnings

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) shares rose 4.1% on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $214.62 and last traded at $213.00. Approximately 61,892 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 286,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.69.

The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.47% and a net margin of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,075. This represents a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 in the last ninety days. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP grew its holdings in UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd 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. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $189.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 0.87.

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.