DDD Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• DDD Partners LLC bought 13,551 shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) in Q4, a stake worth about $2.61 million that represents roughly 0.07% of the company.
• UniFirst reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, missing the consensus by $0.08, while revenue rose 3.4% year-over-year to $622.5 million.
• Analysts are mixed: MarketBeat lists an average rating of Reduce with an average target of $228.25, although UBS and Barclays recently raised targets to $260 and $280, respectively.

DDD Partners LLC purchased a new stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,551 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,614,000. DDD Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of UniFirst as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UNF. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in UniFirst by 474.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 378.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNF. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price target on UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research raised UniFirst from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UniFirst currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $228.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 owned 6,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,534,745.94. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $257.42 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.51 and a 200-day moving average of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88 and a beta of 0.66. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The company had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.78%.

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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