Voss Capital LP Makes New Investment in Unifirst Corporation $UNF

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Voss Capital LP bought a new position in Unifirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 163,962 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $28,529,000. Unifirst makes up about 2.2% of Voss Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Voss Capital LP owned approximately 0.88% of Unifirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Ulysses Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unifirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,318,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Unifirst in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,081,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Unifirst by 148.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 76,742 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $13,130,000 after buying an additional 45,850 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Unifirst by 27,715.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,498 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $6,873,000 after buying an additional 39,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Unifirst in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,461,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company's stock.

Unifirst Trading Up 0.7%

Unifirst stock opened at $174.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $177.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.56. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 2nd. The textile maker reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $610.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.50 million. Unifirst had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 7.35%. Unifirst's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Unifirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Unifirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Unifirst's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $152.00 target price on shares of Unifirst and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Unifirst from $196.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $197.00 price target on shares of Unifirst in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Unifirst in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unifirst has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.50.

Unifirst Company Profile

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.

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