UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 23rd, 2023

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF – Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,991 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.14% of UniFirst worth $4,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in UniFirst by 2.6% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,368 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 3.8% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,915 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 3.1% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,160 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 27.2% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in UniFirst by 2.8% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 186,505 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,868,000 after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of UniFirst from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Wednesday, May 31st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of UniFirst from $225.00 to $203.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 30th.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $154.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.70. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $150.50 and a 1-year high of $205.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43 and a beta of 0.85.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 28th. The textile maker reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.50). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.03% and a net margin of 4.69%. The business had revenue of $576.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.19 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 6th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.79%.

UniFirst Profile

(Free Report)

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.