Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.07 Million Stock Holdings in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in UniFirst Co. (NYSE:UNF) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,826 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.38% of UniFirst worth $14,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 622,048 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $106,700,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in UniFirst by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 332,187 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $65,989,000 after buying an additional 36,651 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 25.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 173,315 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,729,000 after acquiring an additional 35,604 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 305.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 41,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $7,193,000 after purchasing an additional 31,583 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on UniFirst from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UniFirst from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.25.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.5 %

UNF stock opened at $196.02 on Friday. UniFirst Co. has a 12-month low of $149.58 and a 12-month high of $205.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.21 and a 200-day moving average of $178.66.

UniFirst Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors 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 0.71%. This is a positive change from UniFirst’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is currently 16.99%.

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.