Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 2,596 UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,596 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in UniFirst by 187.2% in the fourth 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, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 291.6% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE UNF opened at $170.11 on Thursday. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $212.10 and a 200-day moving average of $198.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.