UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Trading Up 4.1% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)’s stock price traded up 4.1% on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $214.62 and last traded at $213.00. 61,892 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 286,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.69.

The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares in the company, valued at $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,105.84. The trade was a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after buying an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 grew its holdings in UniFirst by 255.1% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter worth about $471,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.31.

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.