6,800 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Bought by Cannon Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Cannon Global bought a new position of 6,800 shares of UniFirst (≈$1.312M) in Q4, representing about 3.3% of its portfolio and making UNF its fourth-largest holding.
• Analysts are cautious: MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with a consensus price target of $228.25, below the recent share price (opened around $261.68).
• In the latest quarter UniFirst missed EPS ($1.13 vs. $1.21 expected) while revenue rose to $622.5M, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 (annualized $1.46, ~0.6% yield).

Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,800 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,312,000. UniFirst accounts for about 3.3% of Cannon Global Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in UniFirst by 474.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased 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 worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of UniFirst from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $228.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE UNF opened at $261.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $252.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.54. UniFirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $622.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst's payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

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).

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