Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Has $2.23 Million Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. cut its UniFirst stake by 85.4% in the second quarter, selling 49,500 shares and retaining 8,450 shares valued at approximately $2.23 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of UniFirst, with California State Teachers Retirement System making a significant addition of more than 4.68 million shares during the quarter.
• UniFirst reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, missing the $1.93 consensus estimate, despite revenue rising 3.9% year over year to $634.4 million. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 per share.

Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lessened its holdings in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,450 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 49,500 shares during the period. UniFirst makes up 0.2% of Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings in UniFirst were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNF. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in UniFirst by 25,640.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,702,099 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,243,517,000 after buying an additional 4,683,832 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Moore Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of UniFirst by 50.0% during the second quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 3,000 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the second quarter worth $1,606,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Stock Down 0.4%

UNF stock opened at $274.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23 and a beta of 0.61. UniFirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $147.66 and a twelve month high of $306.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $284.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $267.46.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UNF shares. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded UniFirst from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $246.67.

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).

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