Wells Fargo & Company MN Increases Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,121 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.61% of UniFirst worth $19,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 3.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Trading LLC purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the third quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in UniFirst by 13.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 23,978 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.9 %

UniFirst stock opened at $173.20 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $197.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.12. UniFirst Co. has a twelve month low of $149.58 and a twelve month high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. UniFirst’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 business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on UNF shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 target price (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.