Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Makes New Investment in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,450 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $868,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 378.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in UniFirst during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in UniFirst by 1,244.0% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. 78.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UniFirst Stock Up 1.0%

UNF stock opened at $300.39 on Wednesday. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $303.09. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.38 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $271.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $252.49.

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

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 23.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $262.00 target price on UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, UniFirst presently has an average 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).