Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 307,155 Shares of Unifirst Corporation $UNF

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 position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 85,558.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,514 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 307,155 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned 1.66% of Unifirst worth $53,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UNF. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Unifirst by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 88.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 266 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Unifirst in the first quarter valued at $70,000. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of Unifirst in the first quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unifirst in the fourth quarter valued at about $104,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two research 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, Unifirst has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Stock Down 2.2%

Unifirst stock traded down $3.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.34. 27,941 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,950. Unifirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $156.34 and a 52 week high of $243.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.95.

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

Unifirst Announces Dividend

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