Natixis Advisors L.P. Has $19.31 Million Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Natixis Advisors L.P. cut its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,589 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,357 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.56% of UniFirst worth $19,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $99,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 707 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.8% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on UNF. UBS Group boosted 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. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $159.60 on Monday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $150.50 and a 1 year high of $187.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $166.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12 and a beta of 0.83.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.60%.

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.