Point72 Asset Management L.P. Makes New Investment in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 36,400 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,228,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.20% of UniFirst as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 20,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UniFirst by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,472 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on UNF. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price target on shares of 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 reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $152.00 price target (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $188.68 on Tuesday. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 0.87.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $602.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to buy up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.41%.

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.