15,100 Shares in UniFirst Corporation $UNF Acquired by Governors Lane LP

Governors Lane LP bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,100 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,913,000. Governors Lane LP owned about 0.08% of UniFirst at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in UniFirst by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,418 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $151,895,000 after buying an additional 14,751 shares during the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP raised its stake 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 worth $88,709,000 after buying an additional 397,772 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 143,853 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 164.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 367,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $70,946,000 after acquiring an additional 228,586 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC grew its stake in shares of UniFirst by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 214,107 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $35,797,000 after acquiring an additional 36,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $260.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $261.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.17. UniFirst Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $147.66 and a fifty-two week high of $283.77.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The textile maker reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $622.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $614.91 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on UNF shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of UniFirst from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.25.

UniFirst 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).