Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 71,732 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,595,587 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 71,732 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of UniFirst worth $307,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 474.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 378.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 1,244.0% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This trade represents a 18.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $256.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $256.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.82. UniFirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 EPS 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 company had revenue of $622.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $228.25.

UniFirst Company Profile

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).