Blair William & Co. IL Grows Stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,491 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $3,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $294,066,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $126,418,000 after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 25.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,729,000 after purchasing an additional 35,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $28,362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $188.20 on Monday. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $197.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $186.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.68.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $603.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.97 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 5.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total transaction of $132,512.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at $921,759.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total transaction of $40,650.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $728,822.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total value of $132,512.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at $921,759.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,257 shares of company stock worth $573,613 over the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Company Profile

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.