EVR Research LP Invests $1.93 Million in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

EVR Research LP acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,929,000. UniFirst comprises about 1.0% of EVR Research LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UNF. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 474.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 378.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report 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 report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $260.09 on Thursday. UniFirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $283.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $261.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.17.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

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).