UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Position Increased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 27,715.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,498 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 39,356 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.21% of UniFirst worth $6,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 1,373.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 280 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 10,886 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,807 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $12,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,924 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price target (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 given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

NYSE:UNF opened at $188.48 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $179.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.48. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.87.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication 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.

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