46,445 Shares in Unifirst Corporation $UNF Acquired by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Unifirst Corporation, buying 46,445 shares valued at approximately $8.08 million, boosting its ownership to 0.25% as of the latest SEC filing.
• Unifirst reported earnings of $2.13 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and it has set a FY 2025 guidance of $7.60 to $8.00 EPS, with an average target price of $179.50 from analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35, yielding 0.8% annually, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 46,445 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $8,081,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.25% of Unifirst as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ulysses Management LLC acquired a new position in Unifirst in the 4th quarter worth about $8,318,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 148.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 76,742 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $13,130,000 after purchasing an additional 45,850 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unifirst by 27,715.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,498 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,873,000 after purchasing an additional 39,356 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Unifirst in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,461,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Unifirst in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on Unifirst in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays set a $152.00 price objective on Unifirst and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, Unifirst has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Price Performance

Shares of UNF traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $178.13. 104,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,354. Unifirst Corporation has a twelve month low of $156.34 and a twelve month high of $243.70. The business's 50-day moving average price is $176.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

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