Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $81.64 Million Stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,335 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,685 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $81,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth 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. Wealth Alliance acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays upped their price target on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.75.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, EVP William Masters Ross sold 2,282 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.27, for a total value of $399,966.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,039.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $159.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.16 and a beta of 0.83. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $150.50 and a 52 week high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

UniFirst Company 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.