Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Raises Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,206 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 1,105.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position 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 worth $93,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 decreased their price objective on UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

UniFirst Stock Down 14.3 %

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $169.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $213.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.98.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.