Strs Ohio Has $73,000 Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Strs Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 77.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $73,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at about $99,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 22.1% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 707 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 4.8% during the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 6.3% in the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on UNF shares. Barclays upped their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total value of $399,966.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,039.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $161.17 on Thursday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $150.50 and a 1 year high of $187.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $590.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.