UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF – Get Rating) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,483 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 187.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 273 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 328.9% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in UniFirst during the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in UniFirst during the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. 77.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $225.00 to $203.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 30th.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.2 %

UniFirst stock opened at $170.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $170.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02 and a beta of 0.90. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $154.72 and a 52 week high of $205.59.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 29th. The textile maker reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $542.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.68 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 4.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 8th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 7th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 22.63%.

About UniFirst

(Get Rating)

UniFirst Corp. engages in the provision of workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing. It operates through following segments: the United States and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing (MFG), Specialty Garments, First Aid, and Corporate. The U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning segment purchases, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells uniforms, protective clothing, and non-garment items.