Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,613 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 848,299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $155,162,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in UniFirst by 5.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 424,650 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $69,222,000 after purchasing an additional 20,708 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 297,308 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $48,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 204,545 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $37,413,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 195,832 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $31,923,000 after acquiring an additional 8,734 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total transaction of $399,966.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $164.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88 and a beta of 0.82. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $150.50 and a 1-year high of $187.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.56 million. As a group, analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on UNF shares. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.75.

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.