PSquared Asset Management AG Acquires New Position in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

PSquared Asset Management AG bought a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 22,365 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,915,000. UniFirst comprises approximately 1.9% of PSquared Asset Management AG’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of UniFirst during the 2nd quarter valued at $580,008,000. Engine Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 640.5% in the fourth quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 459,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $88,709,000 after acquiring an additional 397,772 shares in the last quarter. Madison Avenue Partners LP bought a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $58,612,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 367,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $70,946,000 after purchasing an additional 228,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in UniFirst by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $87,035,000 after purchasing an additional 143,853 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of UNF opened at $285.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.08 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $282.54 and its 200 day moving average is $265.48. UniFirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $147.66 and a fifty-two week high of $306.67.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

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).