UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $222.93 and traded as high as $267.18. UniFirst shares last traded at $265.1570, with a volume of 199,818 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNF. UBS Group lifted their price target on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $259.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $622.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,329 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,876 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,238 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in UniFirst by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 768 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).