UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Short Interest Down 16.9% in February

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,100 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the January 31st total of 166,100 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 117,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of UNF traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,959. UniFirst has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $210.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.46.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $24,576,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,270,000. Ulysses Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,318,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 148.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 76,742 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $13,130,000 after purchasing an additional 45,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNF. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

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.