SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 82.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,490 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of UniFirst by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in UniFirst by 13.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in UniFirst by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in UniFirst by 37.3% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $18,328,000 after acquiring an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 3.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 34,914 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UniFirst news, VP David Martin Katz sold 1,464 shares of UniFirst stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.54, for a total value of $347,758.56. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,745.94. The trade was a 18.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:UNF opened at $255.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $241.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.07. UniFirst Corporation has a 12 month low of $147.66 and a 12 month high of $283.77. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66 and a beta of 0.66.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UNF. Robert W. Baird set a $198.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of UniFirst in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of UniFirst from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Company 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).