Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC Sells 234,916 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Cooper Creek Partners Management sharply reduced its UniFirst stake by 80.5% in the first quarter, selling 234,916 shares and leaving it with 57,060 shares valued at about $14.36 million.
• UniFirst reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue of $634.4 million topping estimates but earnings per share of $1.09 missing the $1.93 consensus. Revenue still rose 3.9% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.365 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with an average price target of $246.67.

Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC cut its holdings in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 80.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,060 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 234,916 shares during the quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC owned 0.32% of UniFirst worth $14,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UNF. Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,329 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,876 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 2.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in UniFirst by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,238 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in UniFirst by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 768 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UniFirst Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE UNF opened at $293.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.35 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.74. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $295.60.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is 23.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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