Driehaus Capital Management LLC Makes New $4.13 Million Investment in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired 23,715 shares of UniFirst Corporation, valued at approximately $4,126,000, representing a 0.13% ownership stake as of their latest SEC filing.
• UniFirst's stock opened at $178.13, with a 52-week range of $156.34 to $243.70, and reported earnings per share of $2.13, exceeding estimates by $0.04.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 to be paid on September 26th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 23,715 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,126,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of Unifirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Unifirst by 59.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Unifirst by 88.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the first quarter valued at about $87,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unifirst in the fourth quarter worth $104,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unifirst in the first quarter valued at $104,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 target price on shares of Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 price target on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE UNF traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.16. The stock had a trading volume of 17,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,734. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.24. Unifirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $156.34 and a 1 year high of $243.70.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 6.18%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.600-8.00 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio is 17.20%.

Unifirst Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.