Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $126.42 Million Stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 737,003 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,069 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.95% of UniFirst worth $126,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 69.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter valued at about $92,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the first quarter worth about $166,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on UniFirst from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $185.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.00.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.8 %

UNF opened at $188.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.81. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $197.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.25 and a 200-day moving average of $171.68.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.27%.

Insider Transactions at UniFirst

In related news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $971,243. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael A. Croatti sold 1,800 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $304,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $971,243. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael Iandoli sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.30, for a total transaction of $132,512.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,744 shares in the company, valued at $921,759.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,257 shares of company stock worth $573,613. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.