Strs Ohio Sells 5,000 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Strs Ohio cut its position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 94.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 300 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $58,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,341 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $51,384,000 after acquiring an additional 115,802 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,177,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,442,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 85.4% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 105,005 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $19,764,000 after purchasing an additional 48,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Topline Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 64.1% during the third quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 122,381 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $20,461,000 after purchasing an additional 47,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This trade represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price 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. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:UNF opened at $256.87 on Wednesday. UniFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $283.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The firm had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.91 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.78%.

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).