London Co. of Virginia Has $161.15 Million Stock Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

London Co. of Virginia reduced its position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 835,370 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 67,635 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $161,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 474.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 378.1% in the 2nd 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 bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% in the 3rd 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. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:UNF opened at $265.92 on Wednesday. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $283.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.03 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.55.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $622.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock 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 raised their price target on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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).