Royce & Associates LP Takes Position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,430 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,000. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.10% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNF. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in UniFirst in the third quarter valued at $202,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in UniFirst by 5.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 654,495 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $130,015,000 after acquiring an additional 32,447 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in UniFirst by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 110,646 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $21,287,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new position in UniFirst during the third quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.9% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,905 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on UNF shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $195.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.05. UniFirst Co. has a 52-week low of $149.58 and a 52-week high of $205.38.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.99%.

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.