Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 13,555 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lessened its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 47.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,963 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 13,555 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.08% of UniFirst worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNF. Norges Bank bought a new position in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $28,362,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst by 42.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,520 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $18,668,000 after purchasing an additional 34,279 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $81,639,000 after purchasing an additional 21,685 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in UniFirst by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $124,193,000 after purchasing an additional 21,115 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp Et Al lifted its position in UniFirst by 62.1% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 36,782 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $5,996,000 after purchasing an additional 14,087 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $164.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,726. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $150.50 and a fifty-two week high of $187.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88 and a beta of 0.83. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $165.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.83.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.19% and a net margin of 4.92%. The company had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.56 million. On average, analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.75.

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.