UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $235.00 to $194.00. The stock had previously closed at $197.57, but opened at $171.50. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. UniFirst shares last traded at $172.25, with a volume of 95,993 shares traded.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNF. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,188,000 after buying an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $210.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

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.