UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,121 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,136 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.27% of UniFirst worth $8,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $241,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,206 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 31,001 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,304,000 after buying an additional 5,659 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 29,600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,064,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,291 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

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

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $196.67 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.91.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased 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.

UniFirst Company 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.