Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases 17,739 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in UniFirst by 1,296.7% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 17,739 shares to hold 19,107 shares (about 0.11% of the company) worth $3.687 million.
• Analysts are mixed: UBS and Barclays raised price targets to $260 and $280 respectively, but MarketBeat's consensus rating is Reduce with an average target of $228.25, below the current share price (~$255.93).
• UniFirst missed EPS ($1.13 vs. $1.21 expected) while revenue beat at $622.5M (+3.4% y/y), and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 (annualized $1.46, 0.6% yield; ex-dividend June 5).

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 1,296.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,107 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 17,739 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.11% of UniFirst worth $3,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UNF. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 60.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,341 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $51,384,000 after acquiring an additional 115,802 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter worth about $18,177,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the third quarter worth about $8,442,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 85.4% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 105,005 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $19,764,000 after acquiring an additional 48,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Topline Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 64.1% in the third quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 122,381 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $20,461,000 after acquiring an additional 47,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $228.25.

UniFirst Price Performance

UniFirst stock opened at $255.93 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.38 and a 200-day moving average of $209.92. UniFirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $283.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.68 and a beta of 0.66.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. UniFirst's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total transaction of $347,758.56. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Profile

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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