Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 13,555 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Brandes Investment Partners LP decreased its holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 47.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,963 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 13,555 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.08% of UniFirst worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $28,362,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,520 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $18,668,000 after purchasing an additional 34,279 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in UniFirst by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 446,335 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $81,639,000 after buying an additional 21,685 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 678,973 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $124,193,000 after buying an additional 21,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp Et Al increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 62.1% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 36,782 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,996,000 after buying an additional 14,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered UniFirst from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on UniFirst from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.75.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $164.48. The company had a trading volume of 8,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,541. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $165.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.87. UniFirst Co. has a 12 month low of $150.50 and a 12 month high of $187.22.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The textile maker reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.19). UniFirst had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 6.19%. The firm had revenue of $590.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.56 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that UniFirst Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.60%.

UniFirst Company 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.