WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 4,043 Shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF)

WCM Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,172 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 4,043 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC owned 0.35% of Unifirst worth $11,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 59.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Unifirst by 88.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Unifirst by 252.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Unifirst by 187.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Unifirst by 811.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Unifirst in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on shares of Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $3.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.01. 112,426 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,659. The business's fifty day moving average is $184.70 and its 200 day moving average is $192.71. Unifirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $156.34 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 0.86.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $610.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 7.35%. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.20%.

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.