SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 790 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,140 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,924 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of UNF stock opened at $210.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $209.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 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, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.