Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,981 Shares of UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,807 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of UniFirst worth $12,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 464.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,220 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,188,000 after purchasing an additional 33,919 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in UniFirst by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 11,519 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 365,047 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $62,456,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 164.2% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,387 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $210.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $207.85 and its 200 day moving average is $196.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 0.89. UniFirst Co. has a 1-year low of $149.58 and a 1-year high of $243.70.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The textile maker reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $604.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.60 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 7.40% and a net margin of 6.00%. UniFirst’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Co. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,299 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.95, for a total value of $274,024.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,361,682.25. This trade represents a 16.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on UNF shares. UBS Group increased their target price on UniFirst from $190.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com cut UniFirst from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.50.

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.