Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in UniFirst Corporation $UNF

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of UniFirst Corporation (NYSE:UNF) by 5.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 744,492 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 42,926 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in UniFirst were worth $187,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in UniFirst by 474.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 155 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UniFirst during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of UniFirst by 378.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 153 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of UniFirst in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 1,244.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 336 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on UNF shares. UBS Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of UniFirst in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of UniFirst from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.67.

UniFirst Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UNF opened at $293.86 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $270.65 and its 200 day moving average is $250.74. UniFirst Corporation has a 1 year low of $147.66 and a 1 year high of $295.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.35 and a beta of 0.63.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 1st. The textile maker reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.84). The business had revenue of $634.40 million during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that UniFirst Corporation will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

UniFirst Dividend Announcement

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

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).