First Trust Advisors LP Sells 5,433 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,452 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 5,433 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.15% of UniFirst worth $4,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in UniFirst by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 811.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNF shares. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.00.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company'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 transaction of $274,024.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $180.70. 137,229 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,352. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.70 and a 200-day moving average of $195.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.87.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 17.41%.

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

UniFirst 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.