Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 4,427 Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,273 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 4,427 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.66% of Unifirst worth $21,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Unifirst by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $81,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 419.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 628 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock traded down $1.00 on Monday, hitting $174.43. The company had a trading volume of 69,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,286. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50-day moving average is $183.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.93. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $156.34 and a twelve month high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $610.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unifirst currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $179.50.

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.