State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,886 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in UniFirst by 194.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,930 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 6.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 66,924 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $13,294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,174 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the third quarter worth about $266,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 21,553 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.1 %

UniFirst stock opened at $210.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $206.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.19. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.50.

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.