UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,326 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,056 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 2.09% of UniFirst worth $66,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $24,576,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 464.6% in the third 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 during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,235 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $32,376,000 after purchasing an additional 16,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 237,308 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $40,601,000 after buying an additional 7,559 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $163.40 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $204.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.11. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.88. UniFirst Co. has a one year low of $149.58 and a one year high of $243.70.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on UNF. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 target price (down previously from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

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.