ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 52.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,624 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,596 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 69.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at about $92,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 1st quarter worth approximately $166,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in UniFirst during the second quarter valued at approximately $248,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $96,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,325. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total value of $132,512.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $921,759.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David Martin Katz sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $96,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,095,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,457 shares of company stock worth $269,413. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $192.39 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $187.15 and a 200 day moving average of $172.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.81. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $197.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The textile maker reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.31. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 5.44%. The firm had revenue of $603.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $600.97 million. Analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.83 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is 19.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.00.

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.