Bridges Investment Management Inc. Invests $249,000 in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,450 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $28,362,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at $259,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $375,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $96,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,325. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $971,243. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $96,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,257 shares of company stock valued at $573,613. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of UNF opened at $188.20 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $186.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.81. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $197.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.31. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $603.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.97 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.