Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,751 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 8,253 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.88% of Unifirst worth $28,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 59.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,000. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.50.

Unifirst Price Performance

NYSE:UNF traded down $3.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.49. The company had a trading volume of 41,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,524. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.86. Unifirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $156.34 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The business's 50 day moving average price is $183.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.60.

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

Unifirst declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.