Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Increases Stake in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 119.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,921 shares of the textile maker’s stock after buying an additional 30,402 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $14,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DDD Partners LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at $2,614,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in UniFirst by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,163 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,011,000 after purchasing an additional 12,465 shares in the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,687,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,312,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,886,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.67.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $290.17 on Thursday. UniFirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $295.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.75.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid 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 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).