Aquatic Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,757 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 252.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in UniFirst by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 811.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of UNF traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.68. The stock had a trading volume of 112,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,004. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst Co. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $602.20 million for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. UniFirst's payout ratio is presently 17.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. UBS Group raised their target price on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.