UniFirst Corporation $UNF Stock Holdings Decreased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 52.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,071 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 4,419 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in UniFirst by 7.8% during 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 13.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 4.6% in the first 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 boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 37.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $18,328,000 after buying an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the first 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 buying an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.0%

UNF stock opened at $273.65 on Friday. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $283.77. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $263.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.02.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UNF shares. Barclays upped their price target on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.25.

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).