Ionic Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Ionic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,500 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Governors Lane LP purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $2,913,000. EVR Research LP purchased a new stake in UniFirst in the fourth quarter worth about $1,929,000. Engine Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of UniFirst by 640.5% during the fourth quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 459,871 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $88,709,000 after purchasing an additional 397,772 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $12,318,000. Finally, Jain Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.25.

UniFirst Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:UNF opened at $260.09 on Thursday. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $283.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24 and a beta of 0.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.49%.The business had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $614.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.78%.

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).