Royce & Associates LP Purchases Shares of 18,430 UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,430 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,661,000. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.10% of UniFirst as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 10.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,912 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 25,211 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,695,590 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $294,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 69.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 414 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of UniFirst from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UniFirst stock traded down $2.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.83. 57,324 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,626. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.29. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from UniFirst's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 18.02%.

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.