Copeland Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Copeland Capital trimmed its stake in UniFirst by 5.3% to 295,381 shares (about $56.98M), leaving the stock as its 27th-largest holding; institutional investors now own roughly 78.17% of UniFirst and several other funds (notably Millennium Management) raised positions in the latest filings.
• UniFirst reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing estimates of $1.21 while revenue of $622.5M beat estimates and was up 3.4% year-over-year, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 ($1.46 annual, ~0.6% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is cautious with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $228.25, while the stock trades in a one-year range of $147.66–$283.77 and has a market cap near $4.7B.

Copeland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 295,381 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 16,615 shares during the period. UniFirst comprises approximately 1.3% of Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 1.63% of UniFirst worth $56,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in UniFirst by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,724,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in UniFirst by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,560,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $18,328,000 after buying an additional 28,589 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in UniFirst by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 34,914 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $6,075,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at UniFirst

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of UniFirst 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF stock opened at $261.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46 and a beta of 0.66. UniFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $283.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $253.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.94.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays raised 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. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UniFirst has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $228.25.

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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