Bryce Point Capital LLC Buys Shares of 8,937 UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,937 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 252.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 291.6% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNF shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $175.07 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $208.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.63. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Company 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.