11,977 Shares in Unifirst Corporation $UNF Acquired by Eisler Capital Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Unifirst Corporation valued at approximately $2.10 million by purchasing 11,977 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Fifth Third Bancorp, significantly increased their holdings in Unifirst, which now has 78.17% of its stock owned by institutional investors.
• Unifirst declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.40 and a yield of 0.8%.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,977 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,102,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Unifirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UNF. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unifirst by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,052 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Unifirst by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,875 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Unifirst by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,167 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $6,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Unifirst by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,624 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst during the 4th quarter worth about $1,561,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UNF shares. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on shares of Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UNF traded down $2.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $174.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,662. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.86. Unifirst Corporation has a one year low of $156.34 and a one year high of $243.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $175.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.58.

Unifirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 7.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Unifirst has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.600-8.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

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

About Unifirst

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.