Cerity Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 3,113 Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,113 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UNF. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Unifirst by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Unifirst by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,231 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Unifirst by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,613 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Unifirst by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Unifirst Stock Down 0.7%

Unifirst stock opened at $173.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.86. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $156.34 and a twelve month high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the textile maker to reacquire up to 3.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UNF shares. Barclays set a $152.00 price target on Unifirst and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Unifirst in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unifirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.50.

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.