Tribune Investment Group LP Makes New $3.08 Million Investment in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Tribune Investment Group LP purchased a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,000 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,080,000. UniFirst makes up about 1.7% of Tribune Investment Group LP's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Tribune Investment Group LP owned approximately 0.10% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $66,268,000 after purchasing an additional 20,056 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays restated 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock 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 given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:UNF traded down $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,649. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $192.86 and a 200-day moving average of $196.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. UniFirst's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued 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 0.81%. UniFirst's payout ratio is 17.41%.

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.