Personal CFO Solutions LLC Boosts Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,551 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,576,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the third quarter worth approximately $10,270,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 5.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $130,015,000 after purchasing an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

UniFirst Stock Down 2.1 %

UNF opened at $205.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $212.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.04.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 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. 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 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.