Invesco Ltd. Grows Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,725 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 3,017 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.42% of UniFirst worth $13,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,708,242 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $292,263,000 after acquiring an additional 6,393 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 5.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,308 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $40,601,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,235 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $32,376,000 after acquiring an additional 16,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.52. 68,148 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,853. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.88.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 7.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UNF shares. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price objective (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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, UBS Group boosted their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.