Deutsche Bank AG Has $2.25 Million Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 53.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,169 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 4,593 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 187.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 811.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price target (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.00.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:UNF opened at $184.52 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

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.