Bank of America Corp DE Sells 8,307 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,969 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 8,307 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.94% of UniFirst worth $29,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in UniFirst by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,140 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 790 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in UniFirst by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,924 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $186.76 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $180.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.07.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is 17.41%.

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About UniFirst

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.

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