UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,167 shares of the textile maker's stock after buying an additional 1,456 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.19% of UniFirst worth $6,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Barclays PLC grew 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 buying an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth approximately $255,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,793 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the company'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 sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $180.74. The stock had a trading volume of 12,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,357. The business's fifty day moving average is $185.53 and its 200 day moving average is $195.39. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.87.

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

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 17.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their target price 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 dropped their price target on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $152.00 price objective (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

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.