Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Grows Stock Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its holdings in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 119.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,921 shares of the textile maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,402 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. owned about 0.31% of UniFirst worth $14,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in UniFirst by 474.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 378.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 price target on UniFirst in a report on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.67.

UniFirst Price Performance

UNF opened at $290.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77 and a beta of 0.63. UniFirst Corporation has a 1-year low of $147.66 and a 1-year high of $295.60.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s payout ratio is presently 23.03%.

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).