UniFirst Corp (NYSE:UNF) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 29th, there was short interest totalling 147,200 shares, a drop of 25.1% from the November 14th total of 196,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 86,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.
A number of research firms have commented on UNF. Zacks Investment Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. ValuEngine downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th.
NYSE:UNF opened at $203.40 on Friday. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $133.20 and a fifty-two week high of $214.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.78.
UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The textile maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $479.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.41 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 9.67%. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.06 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UniFirst will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.74%.
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Marshall Wace North America L.P. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Marshall Wace North America L.P. now owns 473 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in UniFirst by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 31,435 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,825,000 after buying an additional 4,564 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL raised its position in UniFirst by 121.7% during the 2nd quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL now owns 5,100 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. raised its position in UniFirst by 241.7% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 7,606 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 5,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in UniFirst by 48.1% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,164 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.35% of the company’s stock.
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. Rental and Cleaning, 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.
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