UniFirst Corporation $UNF Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 52.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,071 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 4,419 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $1,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNF. Engine Capital Management LP grew 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 purchasing an additional 397,772 shares in the last quarter. Madison Avenue Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,612,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 164.2% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 367,786 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $70,946,000 after purchasing an additional 228,586 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in UniFirst by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 451,194 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $87,035,000 after purchasing an additional 143,853 shares during the period. Finally, Tweedy Browne Co LLC bought a new position in UniFirst in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,687,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $273.65 on Friday. UniFirst Corporation has a one year low of $147.66 and a one year high of $283.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.08 and a 200-day moving average of $241.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $634.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.66 million. UniFirst had a return on equity of 6.44% and a net margin of 4.65%.The business’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.365 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of UniFirst from $206.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. 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, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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).