25,519 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Bought by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new position of 25,519 shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) in Q4, valued at about $4.92 million and representing roughly 0.14% of the company.
• UniFirst reported Q1 EPS of $1.13, missing the $1.21 consensus, while revenue of $622.5 million beat estimates and rose 3.4% year-over-year.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautious: the MarketBeat consensus rating is “Reduce” with a $228.25 target price, below the recent share price (~$256).

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 25,519 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,923,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. owned 0.14% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UNF. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,341 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $51,384,000 after buying an additional 115,802 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth $18,177,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter worth $8,442,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 105,005 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $19,764,000 after buying an additional 48,378 shares during the period. Finally, Topline Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UniFirst by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 122,381 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $20,461,000 after buying an additional 47,819 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $255.93 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $255.38 and a 200-day moving average of $209.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.68 and a beta of 0.66. UniFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNF has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on UniFirst in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $228.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,745.94. This trade represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.