Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,807 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $12,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 24.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,666,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Price Performance

NYSE UNF opened at $210.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.59. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $604.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 17.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNF shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.50.

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.