LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,923 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 4,111 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of UniFirst worth $1,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 23,978 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE UNF traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.96. The company had a trading volume of 89,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,550. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.33.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About UniFirst

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.