UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Bought by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 22.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,452 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of UniFirst worth $1,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $66,268,000 after purchasing an additional 20,056 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 148.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 76,742 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $13,130,000 after buying an additional 45,850 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in UniFirst by 252.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $31,133,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:UNF traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.36. The stock had a trading volume of 62,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,754. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.21. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.89 and a 1-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). The firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued 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 approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are 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.