Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 59.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 227 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Unifirst were worth $39,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of UNF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Unifirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Unifirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,576,000. Ulysses Management LLC acquired a new position in Unifirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,318,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Unifirst by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 76,742 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $13,130,000 after buying an additional 45,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Unifirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,461,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 price target on shares of Unifirst and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th.

Unifirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $174.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 0.86. Unifirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $156.34 and a 1 year high of $243.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.54.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 7.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.