UniFirst Corporation $UNF Stock: State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Stake

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 57.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,442 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 3,289 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 94.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,177 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in UniFirst by 13.4% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,851 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in UniFirst by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,085 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $154,467,000 after acquiring an additional 16,208 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in UniFirst by 9.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,078 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in UniFirst by 22.5% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 980 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $281.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.82 and a beta of 0.60. UniFirst Corporation has a one year low of $147.66 and a one year high of $306.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $270.03.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The textile maker reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $645.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.40 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Profile

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) provides workplace uniforms, workwear rental, and textile services to businesses and organizations. Its offerings include uniform rental and laundering, work garments, protective apparel, floor mats, restroom supplies, first-aid products, and other workplace service programs.

The company also provides specialized apparel and services for industries with particular cleanliness or safety requirements, including healthcare, manufacturing, food processing, and cleanroom environments.