UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 74.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNF. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 1,373.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 280 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased 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 period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $219.14 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $201.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.10. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,075. The trade was a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven S. Sintros sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.04, for a total value of $619,079.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,357,105.84. This represents a 12.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,294 shares of company stock worth $2,546,632 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.