Oak Family Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Oak Family Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,375 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Oak Family Advisors LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in UniFirst by 1,627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 190 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,373.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 280 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 52 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:UNF opened at $214.35 on Monday. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $200.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.96.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 587 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.08, for a total value of $113,337.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,075. This trade represents a 9.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder The Ronald D. Croatti Trust – 1 sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.97, for a total transaction of $1,814,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,294 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,632. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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