Harvest Management LLC Purchases New Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Harvest Management LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 6,071 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000. UniFirst accounts for 0.6% of Harvest Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in UniFirst by 7.8% during the first 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 599 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position 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 buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on UNF. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $282.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.59. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $306.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54 and a beta of 0.63.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.03%.

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).