PSquared Asset Management AG Takes $5.92 Million Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• PSquared Asset Management AG initiated a $5.92 million UniFirst position, buying 22,365 shares and making the stock 1.9% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 78.17% of UniFirst.
• Analysts maintain a cautious view, with four Hold ratings, an average price target of $246.67, and UBS’s target at $262. UniFirst recently missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.09 versus the $1.93 consensus, despite revenue rising 3.9% year over year.
• UniFirst declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 per share, equivalent to $1.46 annually and a 0.5% yield, payable September 25 to shareholders of record September 4.

PSquared Asset Management AG purchased a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 22,365 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $5,915,000. UniFirst makes up 1.9% of PSquared Asset Management AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. PSquared Asset Management AG owned approximately 0.12% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the second quarter worth approximately $3,654,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in UniFirst by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 158,466 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $41,908,000 after acquiring an additional 6,541 shares during the last quarter. Vazirani Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $925,610,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC bought a new position in UniFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $887,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in UniFirst in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,794,000. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $262.00 price target on UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of UniFirst from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $285.79 on Friday. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $306.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.08 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $282.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.48.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $634.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. UniFirst's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. UniFirst's payout ratio is presently 23.03%.

About UniFirst

UniFirst Corporation NYSE: UNF is a leading provider of customized uniform rental and facility service programs in North America and Europe. The company specializes in the rental, laundering and maintenance of workwear, corporate apparel and protective garments for a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and food processing. UniFirst also offers a suite of facility service products such as entrance mats, restroom supplies, wipers, mops and hygienic services designed to help customers maintain clean and safe environments.

In addition to its core uniform rental business, UniFirst has expanded its product portfolio to include safety and first-responder gear, flame-resistant clothing, high-visibility apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).

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