UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Position Increased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,725 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.42% of UniFirst worth $13,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $24,576,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in UniFirst by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $66,268,000 after purchasing an additional 20,056 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $176.45. The company had a trading volume of 158,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,862. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.82.

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

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. UniFirst's payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.