Short Interest in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Declines By 31.1%

UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 150,700 shares, a drop of 31.1% from the April 30th total of 218,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 125,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UniFirst

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 474.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 59.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 88.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of UniFirst stock traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $189.21. The company had a trading volume of 110,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,539. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.55. UniFirst has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. UniFirst's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.41%.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to repurchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.