64,906 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Bought by TimesSquare Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• TimesSquare Capital Management acquired 64,906 UniFirst shares worth approximately $17.2 million, representing a 0.36% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 78.17% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with four Hold ratings, a consensus target price of $246.67, and Weiss Ratings downgrading the stock to Hold. UniFirst shares recently opened at $285.84.
• UniFirst missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.09 in EPS versus the $1.93 consensus, although revenue rose 3.9% year over year to $634.4 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 per share, yielding approximately 0.5% annually.

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 64,906 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $17,165,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned 0.36% of UniFirst as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in UniFirst by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 865,014 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $166,861,000 after acquiring an additional 75,524 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,418 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $151,895,000 after purchasing an additional 14,751 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP grew its position in UniFirst by 640.5% in the 4th quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 459,871 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $88,709,000 after buying an additional 397,772 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in UniFirst by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $87,035,000 after buying an additional 143,853 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in UniFirst by 164.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 367,786 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $70,946,000 after buying an additional 228,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UNF. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UniFirst from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on UniFirst in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $285.84 on Tuesday. UniFirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $306.67. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.09 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $279.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.85.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. UniFirst's payout ratio is currently 23.03%.

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).

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