8,702 Shares in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Acquired by Twinbeech Capital LP

Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,702 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,489,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 25.5% in the 4th 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. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in UniFirst by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $183.65. 52,559 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 105,437. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $149.58 and a 12 month high of $243.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48 and a beta of 0.87.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

UniFirst declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.