Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 83.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,624 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in UniFirst were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,535 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 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 owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE UNF traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.78. 69,559 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,700. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $149.58 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day moving average price is $182.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.09.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.03). UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 target price (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.