Tidal Investments LLC Makes New $271,000 Investment in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,583 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,511 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $502,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $149,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $6,228,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,537 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 target price (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of UNF traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $188.34. The stock had a trading volume of 45,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,280. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.64. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst announced that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's payout ratio is 17.41%.

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.