UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Short Interest Up 15.3% in January

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 166,100 shares, an increase of 15.3% from the January 15th total of 144,100 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 115,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNF. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 194.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,930 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 66,924 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $13,294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 12.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $214.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,218. UniFirst has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.63. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during 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 business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst's payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNF shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $197.50.

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.