Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 11,239 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 631,550 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,239 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $121,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in UniFirst by 187.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 273 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 328.9% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in UniFirst during the first quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in UniFirst during the first quarter valued at $103,000. 77.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.5 %

UNF opened at $168.01 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $172.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66 and a beta of 0.90. UniFirst Co. has a 52 week low of $154.72 and a 52 week high of $205.59.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 29th. The textile maker reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.40). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.56% and a net margin of 4.88%. The company had revenue of $542.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 7th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is 22.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on UniFirst in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on UniFirst from $225.00 to $203.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 30th.

About UniFirst

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UniFirst Corp. engages in the provision of workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing. It operates through following segments: the United States and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing (MFG), Specialty Garments, First Aid, and Corporate. The U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning segment purchases, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells uniforms, protective clothing, and non-garment items.