Man Group plc Lowers Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Man Group plc cut its holdings in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,884 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 24,811 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.17% of UniFirst worth $5,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNF. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 740 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,140 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in UniFirst by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 790 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on UniFirst from $218.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on UniFirst from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.00.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF stock opened at $187.41 on Wednesday. UniFirst Co. has a 1 year low of $149.58 and a 1 year high of $243.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $179.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.18.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.81 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. UniFirst’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the textile maker to purchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.41%.

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.