First Trust Advisors LP Sells 72,361 Shares of UniFirst Corporation $UNF

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,833 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 72,361 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.10% of UniFirst worth $95,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in UniFirst by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,152 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 13.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 4.6% during the first 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 increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 28,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $6,075,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $293.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $270.65 and its 200 day moving average is $250.74. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 46.35 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 6.44%. UniFirst’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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