Insider Selling: UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Director Sells $132,512.60 in Stock

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total transaction of $132,512.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,759.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $189.12 on Monday. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $197.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $169.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61 and a beta of 0.81.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.31. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $603.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $600.97 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 19.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $294,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,650 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $155,162,000 after buying an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in UniFirst by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $124,193,000 after buying an additional 21,115 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $81,639,000 after buying an additional 21,685 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in UniFirst by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 204,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $37,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Company Profile

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.