UBS Group AG Buys 7,791 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

UBS Group AG lifted its stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,107 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,791 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.24% of UniFirst worth $8,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in UniFirst by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,773 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in UniFirst by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,161 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $7,940,000 after purchasing an additional 7,106 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,886,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in UniFirst by 1,296.7% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 19,107 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 17,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UNF. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of UNF opened at $261.27 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $259.77 and its 200 day moving average is $216.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40 and a beta of 0.63. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,745.94. This trade represents a 18.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About UniFirst

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).