Millennium Management LLC Increases Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 148.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,742 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 45,850 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.41% of UniFirst worth $13,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,576,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,461,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $187.39. The stock had a trading volume of 8,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,599. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.92.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. UniFirst's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst 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.