Man Group plc Acquires New Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Man Group plc bought a new position in UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,690 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,794,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.14% of UniFirst as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UNF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in UniFirst in the second quarter valued at approximately $580,008,000. Engine Capital Management LP increased 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. Madison Avenue Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter worth $58,612,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 228,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 143,853 shares during the last quarter. 78.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UNF shares. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on 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 research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.67.

UniFirst Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of UniFirst stock opened at $282.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $282.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54 and a beta of 0.63. UniFirst Corporation has a 12-month low of $147.66 and a 12-month high of $306.67.

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

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

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).