Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

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

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 464.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $8,188,000 after buying an additional 33,919 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in UniFirst by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $66,268,000 after purchasing an additional 20,056 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock traded up $2.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $183.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 57,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,167. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $183.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 0.87. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.