California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 3,952 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,070 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 3,952 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $5,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNF. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst by 1,105.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 229 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 252.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 345 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 359 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 291.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF opened at $161.43 on Wednesday. UniFirst Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.58 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $201.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.41%.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down previously 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 given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $1,361,682.25. This represents a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

About UniFirst

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.