Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in UniFirst by 4.3% in Q4 to 1,595,587 shares, leaving it with roughly an 8.83% ownership valued at about $307.8 million; institutional investors own 78.17% of the stock.
• UniFirst reported Q1 EPS of $1.13, missing consensus by $0.08 while revenue of $622.5 million beat estimates and rose 3.4% year-over-year; the stock trades near $256 with a market cap of $4.63 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.365 (annualized $1.46, ~0.6% yield), and analyst sentiment is weak overall—MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with a mean price target of $228.25 despite some broker target increases to $260–$280.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,595,587 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 71,732 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.83% of UniFirst worth $307,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 5.5% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,204 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 1.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,359 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 2.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 0.5% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 17,990 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,773 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

UniFirst Stock Up 0.8%

UniFirst stock opened at $256.35 on Friday. UniFirst Corporation has a 52-week low of $147.66 and a 52-week high of $283.77. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day moving average is $256.94 and its 200 day moving average is $212.82.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst's payout ratio is 19.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 target price on shares of UniFirst in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $228.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,745.94. This represents a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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