Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 55% in Q4, buying 11,278 shares to own 31,785 shares worth about $6.13 million (roughly 0.18% of the company).
• UniFirst reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, missing estimates by $0.08, while revenue of $622.5M beat expectations and rose 3.4% year-over-year; the stock trades near $257.65 with a market cap of $4.66B.
• Analysts' consensus is a Reduce rating with an average price target of $228.25, though UBS and Barclays recently raised targets to $260 and $280; the company also declared a $0.365 quarterly dividend (0.6% yield).

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 55.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,785 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 11,278 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.18% of UniFirst worth $6,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,359 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,990 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its position in UniFirst by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,773 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:UNF opened at $257.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $255.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.60. UniFirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $283.77. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91 and a beta of 0.66.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.08). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The firm had revenue of $622.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Profile

UniFirst Corporation NYSE: UNF is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).

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