New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,961 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,125,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Unifirst as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Unifirst by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Unifirst by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unifirst by 811.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Unifirst during the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unifirst during the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.
Unifirst Stock Performance
Unifirst stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $172.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 64,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,297. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.33 and a 200-day moving average of $188.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.85. Unifirst Corporation has a one year low of $156.34 and a one year high of $243.70.
Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%. The company had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Unifirst's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Unifirst Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.20%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Unifirst
Unifirst Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories

Before you consider Unifirst, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Unifirst wasn't on the list.
While Unifirst currently has a Reduce rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Learn the basics of options trading and how to use them to boost returns and manage risk with this free report from MarketBeat. Click the link below to get your free copy.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.