UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) to Buyback $100.00 million in Shares

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock traded up $3.21 on Friday, reaching $173.20. The stock had a trading volume of 212,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,238. The business's 50-day moving average price is $197.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 17.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a 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, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst 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 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 at this link. 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.