UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.09% of UniFirst worth $66,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Barclays PLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,974,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% in the fourth 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, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE:UNF traded up $10.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $172.65. 195,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 100,841. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 0.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price objective (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

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.