Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New $5.34 Million Investment in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 20,162 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,336,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in UniFirst by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 4.6% during 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 buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on UniFirst in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $276.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.39. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $306.67. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.66 and a beta of 0.62.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.03%.

UniFirst Company 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).