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 the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,757 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,535 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,460,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% in the 4th 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $183.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,118. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.12 and a 200-day moving average of $195.05.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.41%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price objective (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.00.

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.