Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $24.58 Million in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 143,639 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $24,576,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.77% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after buying an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,974,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 387,326 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $66,268,000 after buying an additional 20,056 shares in the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $171.96 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.35.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $602.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.41%.

UniFirst announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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.