Wealth Alliance Makes New Investment in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Wealth Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,227 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 4.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,104 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 52.7% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,022 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,452 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 13.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 13,111 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 1.8% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,967 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $158.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $150.50 and a 1 year high of $187.22. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.57.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 21.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on UNF shares. Barclays lifted their price target on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price target on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

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.