Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Holdings in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Unifirst Corporation by 27.3% in the first quarter, owning 47,558 shares valued at approximately $8.28 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 78.17% of Unifirst's stock, with notable increases in holdings from GAMMA Investing LLC and Fifth Third Bancorp in the same quarter.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Unifirst, with a consensus target of $179.50 and a rating of "Hold," following recent performance that included a quarterly EPS of $2.13.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,558 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 10,192 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.26% of Unifirst worth $8,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Unifirst during the first quarter valued at about $8,081,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Unifirst in the first quarter valued at about $277,000. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in Unifirst by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 2,701 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unifirst during the first quarter valued at $3,125,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Unifirst by 0.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 21,642 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Unifirst Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE UNF traded up $0.1410 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $174.8210. The stock had a trading volume of 11,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,325. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.85. Unifirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $156.34 and a 1 year high of $243.70.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $614.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Unifirst's revenue 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, analysts expect that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unifirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is 17.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. Barclays set a $152.00 price target on Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price objective on Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $179.50.

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.