Amalgamated Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,433 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 8.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $106,700,000 after acquiring an additional 51,088 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $65,989,000 after purchasing an additional 36,651 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 25.9% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 305.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 41,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $7,193,000 after purchasing an additional 31,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $196.97 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $205.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.82.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 18.02%.

UniFirst 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.