UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Short Interest Down 22.0% in November

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 154,300 shares, a decline of 22.0% from the November 15th total of 197,900 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 80,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE UNF traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $190.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,633. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $193.28 and a 200 day moving average of $183.82. UniFirst has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $208.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 0.84.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNF. 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.25.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was 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 represents a 9.45 % 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. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in UniFirst by 3.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $126,418,000 after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in UniFirst by 5.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $130,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 349,298 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 12.4% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $65,989,000 after purchasing an additional 36,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 229,749 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $45,640,000 after acquiring an additional 8,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

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.