Meeder Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 419.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 628 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,133,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,576,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 464.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after acquiring an additional 33,919 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $62,456,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 173.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 47,968 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,529,000 after purchasing an additional 30,458 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total transaction of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. The trade was a 16.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of UniFirst from $235.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $175.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $208.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.63. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39 and a beta of 0.89.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 17.90%.

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.