UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,393 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of UniFirst worth $292,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $163.40 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $204.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.00.

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.