State of Alaska Department of Revenue Reduces Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,523 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in UniFirst by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in UniFirst by 1,373.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 280 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total transaction of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632 in the last three months. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $216.63 on Thursday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.75.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

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.