Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 275,782 Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,034 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 275,782 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.97% of Unifirst worth $63,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 2,435.5% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,572 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 1st quarter valued at about $542,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 162,751 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $28,319,000 after acquiring an additional 8,253 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,734 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $13,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,613 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,325,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Unifirst Price Performance

Unifirst stock traded down $2.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.93. The company had a trading volume of 108,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,446. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $183.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.86. Unifirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $156.34 and a 12-month high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.50.

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.