State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 50 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 1,373.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 280 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew 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 worth $400,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNF. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of UNF stock opened at $216.63 on Thursday. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.98 and its 200 day moving average is $194.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total value of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,320,968.30. This trade represents a 35.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total transaction of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.