Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its stake in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 78.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,601 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 39,520 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.06% of Unifirst worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Unifirst by 59.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Unifirst by 88.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $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 fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Unifirst by 811.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.
Unifirst Trading Up 2.4%
Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $4.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $178.43. The company had a trading volume of 132,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,581. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $156.34 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.74.
Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $610.78 million during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.
Unifirst announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase 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 UNF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $152.00 price target on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on UNF
About Unifirst
(
Free Report)
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.
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