XTX Topco Ltd Buys 3,263 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 255.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,542 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 2.9% in the second quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 2,806 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.3% in the second quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.3% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,211 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. 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 report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $188.20 on Monday. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.68.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly 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. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $603.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.97 million. On average, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total value of $40,650.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,822.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $971,243. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Masters Ross sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.67, for a total transaction of $40,650.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $728,822.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,257 shares of company stock worth $573,613. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.