Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,400 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in UniFirst by 378.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $266.74 on Thursday. UniFirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $283.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $262.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.13. The company has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.14 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

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).