Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Sells 8,425 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL trimmed its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,082 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 8,425 shares during the quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned about 0.15% of UniFirst worth $4,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,535 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.3 %

UNF traded down $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $180.91. 23,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 103,686. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $184.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.20. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. UniFirst's payout ratio is 17.41%.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.