Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $4.38 Million Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,600 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $4,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,576,000. 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. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in UniFirst by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $66,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $171.47 on Tuesday. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $243.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.15.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 2nd. The textile maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the textile maker to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective 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. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently 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.