California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 3,952 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,070 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 3,952 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of UniFirst worth $5,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 187.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 291.6% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF traded up $0.55 on Monday, hitting $174.70. The company had a trading volume of 5,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,946. The company's fifty day moving average price is $197.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. UniFirst's payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

UniFirst declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 price target (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.