Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 143,639 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $24,576,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.77% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 252.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in UniFirst by 187.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst by 16.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 367 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF stock opened at $204.09 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $215.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10 and a beta of 0.89.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.90%.

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.