Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 20,503 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 11,454.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,682 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,503 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $5,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UNF. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in UniFirst by 7.8% during the first 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 lifted its stake in shares of UniFirst by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of UniFirst by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 37.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 105,331 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $18,328,000 after buying an additional 28,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 3.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

UniFirst Stock Performance

UNF stock opened at $291.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $267.26 and a 200-day moving average of $247.36. UniFirst Corporation has a one year low of $147.66 and a one year high of $295.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 45.99 and a beta of 0.63.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UNF. 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 objective on UniFirst in a report on Monday, July 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.67.

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).