UniFirst Corporation $UNF Shares Acquired by State Street Corp

Key Points

• State Street increased its UniFirst stake by 2.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 16,208 additional shares and holding approximately 3.23% of the company, valued at $154.5 million.
• UniFirst reported quarterly EPS of $1.09, below the $1.93 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 3.9% year over year to $634.4 million. The stock opened at $257.88, down 2.7%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $246.67; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 584,085 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 16,208 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.23% of UniFirst worth $154,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,078 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 22.5% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 980 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,088,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in UniFirst during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in UniFirst by 75.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 107,196 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $28,349,000 after acquiring an additional 46,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Down 2.7%

UNF stock opened at $257.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.67 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.28. UniFirst Corporation has a 52 week low of $147.66 and a 52 week high of $306.67.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UNF shares. Weiss Ratings cut UniFirst from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $246.67.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace apparel and facility service programs for businesses and organizations. Its services include the rental, cleaning, delivery and replacement of uniforms, workwear, protective clothing and other garments designed for a range of industries and occupational environments.

The company also offers related workplace products and services, including floor mats, restroom supplies, first-aid products, safety apparel and facility care programs. UniFirst manages many of these services through local service facilities, helping customers maintain workplace clothing and supplies on a scheduled basis.

Founded in 1936, UniFirst serves customers across the United States, Canada and Europe.

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