UniFirst Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:UNF)

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 3,139 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 618% compared to the average daily volume of 437 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNF shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.67.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded down $7.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $233.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,464. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.83. UniFirst has a 1 year low of $154.00 and a 1 year high of $306.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.11 and a beta of 0.65.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The textile maker reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.14). UniFirst had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $645.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3750 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3650. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 24.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UniFirst

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in UniFirst by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,085 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $154,467,000 after acquiring an additional 16,208 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in UniFirst by 31.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,267 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,596,000 after buying an additional 4,418 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at $580,008,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at $17,165,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in UniFirst by 16.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 151,925 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $38,223,000 after buying an additional 20,956 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides uniform rental and workplace services to businesses across a range of industries. Its programs include workwear selection, laundering, inspection, repair, and scheduled delivery, as well as sales of uniforms and related apparel. The company also supplies facility services such as floor mats, towels, restroom products, and first aid and safety supplies. Through specialized operations, UniFirst provides cleanroom garments and related services for businesses that require controlled environments.