GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 39,356 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 27,715.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,498 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 39,356 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.21% of UniFirst worth $6,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in UniFirst by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,231 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,140 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 790 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $186.96. The stock had a trading volume of 84,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,845. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $180.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.33. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.89 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The business 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 business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.00.

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.