UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Major Shareholder Cecelia Levenstein Sells 9,733 Shares

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 9,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.29, for a total transaction of $1,491,971.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,325 shares in the company, valued at $8,940,639.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Cecelia Levenstein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 12th, Cecelia Levenstein sold 5,500 shares of UniFirst stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.76, for a total transaction of $856,680.00.
• On Monday, June 3rd, Cecelia Levenstein sold 11,000 shares of UniFirst stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.73, for a total transaction of $1,746,030.00.

UniFirst Trading Up 2.2 %

UNF opened at $156.73 on Tuesday. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $187.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.33.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The business had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.56 million. As a group, analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on UNF shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

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

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.