UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Purchased by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 825 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 42.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,520 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $18,668,000 after purchasing an additional 34,279 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $81,639,000 after purchasing an additional 21,685 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 108.2% in the third quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 28,518 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 14,823 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 62.1% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 36,782 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,996,000 after purchasing an additional 14,087 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 77.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 30,771 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,016,000 after purchasing an additional 13,417 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total value of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF traded up $2.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $159.60. 58,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,107. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.66. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $150.50 and a 12-month high of $187.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16 and a beta of 0.83.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 21.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.75.

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.