New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,353 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of UniFirst worth $3,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 291.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of UNF stock opened at $209.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.50.

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.