Unifirst Corporation $UNF Shares Acquired by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp has significantly increased its position in Unifirst Corporation, boosting its holdings by 85,558.5% to own 307,514 shares worth approximately $53.5 million.
• Unifirst reported earnings of $2.13 per share, which exceeded analyst estimates, while revenue for the quarter was $610.78 million, slightly below expectations.
• The company plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share to investors, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 85,558.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 307,514 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 307,155 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned 1.66% of Unifirst worth $53,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 608,245 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $105,835,000 after buying an additional 17,530 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Unifirst by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 264,345 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $45,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unifirst by 353.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,346 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $29,815,000 after purchasing an additional 133,588 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Unifirst during the first quarter worth $28,529,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unifirst by 5.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 162,751 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $28,319,000 after purchasing an additional 8,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNF. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of UNF traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $171.46. The stock had a trading volume of 81,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,513. Unifirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $156.34 and a fifty-two week high of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $174.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.25.

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

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 17.20%.

Unifirst Company 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.