UBS Group AG Increases Stock Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

UBS Group AG lifted its stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,107 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,791 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $8,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNF. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $18,328,000 after purchasing an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 34,914 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $261.27 on Monday. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $283.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $259.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.71.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.08). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The business had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. UniFirst’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $228.25.

Insider Activity

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Profile

UniFirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF) is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).