Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 3,790 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,306 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 3,790 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of UniFirst worth $2,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,140 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 790 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,924 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

UniFirst Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of UNF stock traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $161.43. 117,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 100,469. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.63. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released 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). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.41%.

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

Insider Activity at UniFirst

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

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.