Topline Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Topline Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,329 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,991,000. UniFirst makes up approximately 0.7% of Topline Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Topline Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of UniFirst as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Barclays PLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,188,000 after buying an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the subject 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE UNF traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.52. 68,148 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,043. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.80. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 17.41%.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.