Rhumbline Advisers Has $9.03 Million Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,883 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.28% of UniFirst worth $9,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 27,715.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,498 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $6,873,000 after purchasing an additional 39,356 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in UniFirst by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,328 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. 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. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 target price (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF traded down $3.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $184.31. 103,131 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,119. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $150.83 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average price is $181.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.00.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. UniFirst's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.41%.

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.