UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Trading Up 4.1% Following Strong Earnings

Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) were up 4.1% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $214.62 and last traded at $213.00. Approximately 61,892 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 286,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.69.

The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 7.47%. UniFirst's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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 raised shares of UniFirst from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $186.25.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust - 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,320,968.30. This represents a 35.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of UniFirst

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,627.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 291.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.87.

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.