AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 153,833.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,618 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,615 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 252.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $205.27 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 17.90%.

About UniFirst

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.